I will NOT obey
by Short on words
Summary: Damon has taken things too far with his father yet again and is faced with an ultimatum: curb the most defying slave on the plantation as a sign of his capabilities or be disowned. Goal: get her to sleep with him willingly within a year. Will Elena bend for Damon? AH - AU (long story)
1. Bad blood

**Hi there, this was my first slave story. I read a couple of them on this site already and I was intrigued by the concept, so here is my own. It's a genre of its own with a wide variety of possibilities so I'm curious what you think about the first chapter and my interpretation of the genre. Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.**

**Note to readers who've read Scars Beneath the Surface: You're very welcome to this story though I think a warning might be in order. My two stories are very different. Scars is written by the eager part of me who works hours on her research and her storyboard. This story however is me having fun and not caring about how realistic it sounds. I do hope you'll enjoy it but it's fine if you stick to Scars.**

**xXx**

There was a soft knock on Giuseppe's door.

"Come in Arthur,"

A nervous servant, dressed in a white suit with a matching tie walked through the door. He stood stock still next to the main desk, waiting for a sign from his master.

"What news do you bring?" Giuseppe asked his personal slave.

"There are two problems that need addressing master," Arthur told him with his head down, fidgeting with the cufflinks on his shirt.

"There, there, what seems to be the issue?"

"First there's the new girl, Elena-"

"What about her?"

"Well… she-, she tried to run…"

"And… did she manage to escape?"

"Yes sir, though she did not get far."

"Good."

"There's more, sir," Arthur reluctantly continued: "When the young blonde got punished because her work was not living up to the expectations, Elena intervened." Arthur drew the word out very slowly.

"How," Giuseppe demanded, his tone hard.

"She hit the guard."

"SHE DID WHAT?"

"She hit the-"

"I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!"

"Sorry sir, I just thought-"

"It's fine Arthur," Giuseppe replied, slightly calmer now.

"Those are two very serious issues indeed," he said thoughtfully.

"Actually sir…" Arthur was quiet for a moment.

"Go on…" Giuseppe urged.

"That was only the first problem, sir." he replied softly.

"What else?" Giuseppe inquired aggravated.

"Damon" Arthur admitted, visibly shrinking under the enraged gaze of his master.

"What did he do now?" Giuseppe demanded, getting more and more worked up.

"He was ill today at the board meeting, some members even dared to say he was still drunk from the night before." Arthur answered, his head bowed as low as it would go.

"I see," Giuseppe spoke menacingly, "Thank you Arthur, you are excused," he continued.

The relieved servant disappeared in a matter of seconds.

**xXx**

Damon was having a bad day. Yesterday had been a blast though. He had partied with the soldiers who were in the city for the night, man, those guys certainly had some stories to tell. Of course he had drank as much as his body would let him and he was pretty sure he ended up in some pretty girl's four poster bed afterwards, but he was not sure about that. His memory was blank due to overconsumption.

Today had been completely different. After not even two hours of sleep he had been dragged out of bed by one of his servants for a board meeting. Damon could care less about business. He liked the big estate, all the luxuries and the wealth of course but work was never part of his plan. He knew that one day he would lead the company himself, but it would only be a matter of title. The real work would still be done by competent people, all he would have to do was show up every once in a while to ensure the company still carried his father's name.

Unfortunately, his father wanted him to put in a decent effort, he even threatened to disown Damon and give the company to his brother if he could not keep his behaviour in check. Were those just empty threats or was there a real possibility of something like that actually happening? Of course his father had wanted to put his brother, Stefan, in charge all along, but he couldn't, Damon was a vast six years older so the right belonged to him, or did it?

"Sir?" a small voice asked, clearly frightened.

Damon looked up to a nervous young man. "Yes"

"Your father would like a word sir," he continued.

Damon nodded his head, "Of course he would," he murmured sarcastically.

"In half an hour in his office," the servant continued.

"Great, like I have nothing better to do."

The servant just stood there, presumable waiting for an answer.

"Is there more?" Damon demanded irritated.

"No sir, I just need a reply," he continued hesitantly.

"Fine, I'll be there," Damon replied curtly.

**xXx**

Forty minutes later Damon was sauntering over to his father's office at an excruciatingly slow pace. He had told the servant he'd be there, but he couldn't give his father the satisfaction of actually arriving on time. A few minutes later, he opened the thick timber door without bothering to knock.

"You wanted a talk?" Damon spoke, causing his father to look up in surprise at the fact that he'd shown up. Damon walked over to the left side of the room and poured himself a drink. Then he pulled out a chair in front of the desk his father was sitting at and put down the tumbler with a loud knock. "So, start talking." he ordered moving his feet on top of the desk provokingly, knowing it would drive his father crazy.

His father was already seeing red and Damon's last statement wasn't helping.

'I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR NONSENSE!" he shouted, throwing Damon's feet off his desk with all the force he could manage. Damon looked shocked for a moment, he hadn't expected his father to be that mad. "If it weren't for your mother, you'd be out on the streets by now," Giuseppe continued menacing. "You've most certainly crossed a line, DRUNK in a board meeting, have you lost your mind?"

Damon bowed his head, waiting for the blow that followed a second later, it stung like a bitch. He hadn't meant to screw things up this bad, he just wasn't made for the life his father had in mind, he wanted to be young and carefree.

"Your mother convinced me to give you one last change and trust me: this will be your very last one."

"What do I have to do?" Damon asked.

"Something you will most definitely screw up: responsibility." his father continued menacingly.

"How?"

"There is this slave the guards can't seem to curb, your job will be to make her obey."

"Who?"

"A young girl, named Elena"

Damon's lips curled up in a smile. He'd seen her before and she was quite the beauty. The girl had long brown hair and exquisite features and he had to admit: she most certainly had spunk. He let out a low dark chuckle, thinking of all the ways he could _make_ her obey. Whips, crops, canes… the possibilities were endless.

"I see you are inclined to try, but you haven't heard the best part yet boy" Giuseppe confided, clearly enjoying himself.

"What's the catch?"

"This is not about violence; instead you will make this girl trust you."

"Why?"

"Because no one on my board trusts you. You have no idea how to make people trust you or what it's like to be responsible; accountable for someone else except yourself."

"How will you know when I have gained her trust?"

"Your task is completed as soon as she sleeps with you willingly."

Damon choked on his drink, eyes wide with shock. What an odd assignment.

"Are you not up to the task, son?" his father asked, smiling with satisfaction.

"No, I'll do it. How long do I get?"

"A year" his father informed him smirking.

"What if I succeed?"

"The company will be yours."

"What if I don't?"

"Then I get the satisfaction of kicking you out and giving your brother his rightful position."

"It's on." Damon told him, before heading out and pulling the door closed behind him with a loud BANG.

**xXx**

The next day after some much needed sleep Damon found himself out in the gardens. The sun was shining brightly and the air smelled of roses. He walked over to the river and followed it all the way up the stream to the top of his favorite hill where he sat down beneath an old willow tree and let his eyes slide over the estate in front of him. This was his home; would his father really throw him out?

If Damon was honest with himself, he knew this had been coming. Giuseppe had always cared more about Stefan than he did Damon. Stefan was the golden boy; he got good grades, never ran into any trouble and wasn't interested in girls. Stefan never got home drunk and always behaved as a proper young man, a gentleman, and everybody loved him. No wonder the board liked him better.

Damon thought about the challenge. Getting a young girl to trust him, how hard could that be? He needed to get her to sleep with him. Would that really be so difficult? Whenever he visited the village, girls were more than willing to be his for the night. He was charming, cunning and not to mention ridiculously handsome. When he walked into the bar, all eyes were on him, some girls put up a good show at first, but in the end no one had ever been capable of resisting his charms and neither would Elena. He smiled at some very visual memories.

Determined, Damon made his way down to his father's plantation, it was time to get formally introduced.

**xXx**

Elena had been picking apples since the breaking of dawn four hours ago. Her arms were tired and her fingers hurt. This was everything but the life she had envisioned for herself when she was younger. Once upon a time she had been part of a perfectly happy family. She'd had a great younger brother and two loving parents. There hadn't been much money but they got by just fine, or so she thought. After her old house burned down and she lost her family as well as everything she owned in the flames, it turned out her family had had some major depts.

One of the landlords her father owed money to had taken her into custody, stating she needed to work thirteen months on his plantation the settle the dept. At first she thought it was a reasonable settlement, but she had seriously underestimated what it meant. A working day at the plantation lasted 14 hours, she never even stayed awake that long when she had been living at home. 13 months meant 56 weeks, 5488 excruciating hours of dead hard labour. Her own personal hell.

"Gilbert, get down," one of the guards yelled at her.

Elena was confused for a moment. Should she go down and risk another round of punishment for something completely unreasonable? Or should she risk staying up in the tree, hoping the guard's whip couldn't reach her this high. After giving a second thought to her tired arms, she decided getting down was her best option. That way she could at least give her muscles a short break.

Hesitantly she climbed down, looking straight into the guard's eyes as she demanded rudely "What do you want?"

The guard circled her for a moment before kicking the back of her knees, knocking her to the ground very effectively. "Mind your tone you stupid little wench."

She looked up at him again, refusing to keep her head down. "Or what?" she replied using that same defying tone. The whip whistled as it rushed through the air, streaking her left check with a loud whoosh. Elena's hand shot out in an attempt to soothe the searing pain, tears sprang into her eyes though she didn't make a sound.

"You can have her now," the guard told a handsome young man who had come to stand next to him. The man extended his hand in her direction, offering to help her up. She ignored him and stumbled to her feet. A defying huff left her lips before she headed back to her tree.

"Gilbert! You're with him now. Turn around."

Elena just kept walking, refusing to give in.

The guard ran after her, gripping her by the throat and turning her around violently. "That wasn't a request young lady" he sneered, throwing her onto the ground in Damon's general direction. "She's all yours master. By all means: have your way with her."

"Sure thing," Damon replied with a wink, before realizing this was not a great start.

Elena walked right past him and he was caught off guard before he turned around and made his way to her side.

"Hi, I'm Damon." he started, walking faster and faster to keep up with her sturdy pace.

"You'll be my personal servant from now on," he continued, but she kept on walking without giving him so much as a glance. After over ten minutes they got to the house, but Elena went straight ahead, past the entrance.

"Hey!" Damon shouted, gripping her by her elbow and turning her around rather roughly. Man, this girl was infuriating. He felt a sudden urge to shake her and teach her some manners, but that wouldn't help him in any way, so he opted for the soft approach.

"Elena, please wait," he asked her and the girl stopped dead in her tracks looking up at him expectantly.

"It's this way," he told her, pointing in the right direction.

"Thanks, but I prefer the other way, Da-mon," she replied, emphasizing his first name which she knew she wasn't allowed to use. Damon rolled his eyes in despair, what the hell was he going to do?

******xXx**

**My intention is to make this into a long shot with close to ten chapters, maybe more. But if this turns out to be a bummer, I'll happily go back to writing other things, no hard feelings. Please let me know what you think and I'll be sure to get back with a new chapter sometime soon.**


	2. Never say never

**Hi dear readers. Thank you for following, favoriting and reviewing this weekend. You all lit up my world the past two days. As some of you may have noticed: I use music to name my chapters. Bad blood refers to a song written by Bastille and Never say never refers to a song by the Fray (a song from the series Pilot episode) Enjoy reading!**

_**xXx**_

He grabbed her by her elbows and held her in front of him so she was face to face with him and could not run away.

"What is your problem?" Damon demanded aggravated.

"YOU are my problem, you and your father and everyone else here; you all think you can use me as your damn toy! You decide what I eat, you decide where I sleep, when I sleep –that is if I even get to sleep-, you decide what I do all day and it sucks! Because contrary to what it may look like, this life is bloody awful!" she replied furiously, eyes blazing.

"Maybe things would not be so bad for you around here if you chose to obey every once in a while…" Damon suggested hopeful.

"And give you the very last part of me? No chance in hell. I WILL NOT OBEY YOU!" she shouted, ripping herself out of his grasp.

Aw, the noise hurt Damon's ears, he let her go for a second, shocked, and Elena gratefully took this as her opportunity to run. She sprinted away as fast and as far as she could, not bothering to give him a second look.

**xXx**

After three hours of searching, Damon was starving. He went home to change out of his muddy clothes, took a shower and had a luxurious dinner, Elena completely forgotten. When it was getting dark outside and he moved to his chambers, enjoying the comforting confines of his own wing in the castle, he remembered his father's words. _"There is this slave the guards can't seem to curb, your job will be to make her obey." … "Then I get the satisfaction of kicking you out and giving your brother his rightful position."_ His father had been right, this task was close to impossible. He gave his lovely chambers one last look and decided to go out again, leaving the girl out in the cold to die certainly wasn't an option given the circumstances.

He thought a moment about getting some of the slaves to help him look for her, but had to acknowledge that it would not be correct towards them. He would only work out his anger on them and Elena was his own responsibility, he had to be the one to bring her back. Damon took a backpack and filled it with some essentials: a torch, a lighter, a bottle of water, some food for Elena and one of his old sweaters to keep her warm once he found her.

A few minutes later, he was out in the cold dark night, looking for the girl that would decide his future on the estate. "ELENA!"

"ELENAAAAA!"

Two more hours of searching led to nothing and Damon felt fear invade his thoughts for the first time in a long while. If something happened to her, he would be held responsible. He could not return home before he found her, his father would mock him endlessly and he would be kicked out immediately. No, returning without Elena was not an option; he had to find a way. Then he thought of his hill, the one he had been resting on earlier that day. The height gave him a perfect overview of the estate, even if it was dark the lanterns would still give away shadows. Another part of his brain told him that the girl would most definitely avoid the lights and it wouldn't be any use going up there but whether the hill would help him find Elena or not, at least it could calm him down a little.

He climbed and climbed, following the flow of water back up like he did last time, until he found his safe haven on top. When he reached the tree that he'd grown to love, he was perplexed. The girl he'd been looking for was curled up under its branches, shivering.

Damon approached her warily, careful not to scare her, but she didn't even hear him coming. The dirty old shirt she was wearing was way too large for her tiny body. Now it included her two knees, which she had pulled in under the thin fabric. Her teeth were chattering and she was trembling visibly, rolled up into a ball. Damon opened his backpack and took out the sweater; he took another step closer and offered her the warm piece of clothing.

She looked up at him in surprise, but didn't try to run or to fight. Her head sank in defeat and she took the sweater and put it on, her knees once again curled up underneath. She did not thank him, nor did she have to, Damon was just grateful he had found her. He sank down next to her and took out some food and the water.

"Here," he offered it to her.

She took the food hesitantly, not meeting his gaze.

"Look, Elena," he began softly, "I am not here to hurt you or to punish you, I just want us to start over. Maybe with time you will see I'm not as bad as you think, but until then, could you try to behave just a little more obediently?"

Elena continued to eat in silence.

"My father wants you to be one of my personal assistants from now on, that means no more tiring yourself out in trees. You can come live in my wring of the castle and have yourself a proper bed, clean clothes. If you decide to act a little more obedient, your life could be a whole lot better. There would be no more waking up at 5 AM and you would eat the food I eat, have your own bedroom, bathroom…"

That caught Elena's attention. Her living arrangements now were as bad as can be and the prospect of a little more sleep and an actual bed lit up her face a little. Up untill now she had always slept on the floor in the cellar, they had nothing to wash themselves with but a bucket of cold water and some damp rags. If things could be the way Damon set them out to be she- No! She could not think like that, there had to be a catch, something he wasn't telling her. There were only a handful of slaves who had their own room, those were the personal servants to the family and they had gotten those positions out of loyalty. She had never proven to be loyal.

"Why would you do that for me?" Elena asked him, wary.

Damon thought about his answer for a moment. _Because I need you to trust me so you'll sleep with me_ didn't roll quite off the tongue… "Because I think you've been having a hard time here on the plantation and I could use a personal servant. Think of it as a win-win situation: I'll get myself some help and maybe even a friend, who knows… And you will be out of the cellar and have a much more comfortable life. What do you think?"

"I think this is much too good to be true. What you are telling me about having my own room, that's pretty much against the rules I think. Only the highly trained servants have their own rooms and they are located in a separate piece of the estate."

"True, but every member of my family has one or two servants who live in their own wing, that way they are always close in case their master requires their help."

"Master…" Elena tested the word out loud.

"I'm not especially fond of slavery, so Damon is fine…"

"Can I trust you, Damon?" Elena asked, hesitantly using his first name.

DING DING DING, who thought things could be this easy?

"Of course you can trust me," Damon replied, enjoying her choice of words. "Are you ready to go back to the castle?"

"Yes, I am," Elena responded, rearranging her clothes so she could get to her feet.

**xXx**

The way downhill was harder than the way up. Elena was struggling in the dim light but just when she was about to trip, Damon caught her arm. He steadied her and tentatively took her hand in his, she was freezing. Elena wanted to pull back for a moment, proving him that she was good on her own but his hand felt so warm and strong. Having someone hold her, even it was just holding hands, gave her a sense of comfort she hadn't felt in weeks.

One moment she'd been part of a family, the next morning she had been all alone on the plantation. She never had a chance to cry, a chance to let go and lean on someone. Right now, for the first time since the fire, someone was there for her, offering her some kind of support. So all she could do was fold her thumb around his capable finger and relish in the feel of it as long as it lasted.

Damon held her hand all the way down, stroking her knuckles when they reached the path and bringing her hand up to his lips for a quick kiss before letting go of her. He could see she was warming up to him. Behind the brave exterior she was just a young girl who had ended up in a messed-up situation. If he kept this good-guy-act in place, his assignment would be easier than expected.

**xXx**

They reached the front door and Damon stopped for a moment. "Is there anything you need from downstairs?" he asked her kindly.

"Yes, could I bring my things?"

"Of course you can, let's go get them."

The cellar was quiet, most slaves already in bed, some of them behind the curtain washing themselves. The slaves were not allowed out of their 'room' after sundown, punishments for disobeying were harsh. Damon greeted the guard in the corner of the room, who sat back comfortably in a luxurious armchair while most slaves slept on the hard wooden floor without even a pillow of any kind. For every year of satisfying service, the slaves could earn something: a blanket, a pillow, a book, a towel... The system worked to keep them in check, the ones with the most experience were the least likely to start a rebellion that way. Still, there were always some _hero's_ among the crowd; it was the guard's task to keep those in line. It wasn't that difficult considering the guard had access to whips, canes, floggers and other utensils to fulfil his job description.

Elena walked over to the end of the row where a rectangle marked in chalk indicated her _zone_. The small surface that had been appointed to her was one meter by two (3,3ft x 7ft). She collected the two books she'd brought from home and the necklace her mom had given her and walked back over to Damon. He eyed her disbelievingly "Is that all?" he asked surprised.

"It's all your father would allow me to bring" she replied softly.

Damon put his hand on the small of her back and led her out of the cellar, up to his personal wing. With an overly dramatic gesture he swung the wooden door open to reveal a beautifully decorated room.

"Come in," he gestured.

Elena walked into a large room with small steps. On her left side was a big fire place with a ruby sofa in front of it. The other side was filled by a hard wooden table. On top of it was a delicate flower arrangement flanked by two gorgeous chandeliers. One wall of the room was completely made out of windows that overlooked what she assumed would be the gardens, but she wasn't sure in the dark. She took her time taking in the luxurious surroundings, everything looked so surreal. She'd never been in a castle before and now she was going to live here, the idea took some time to get used to. She let her fingers slide over one of the exquisite oak dressers that lined the wall and ended up in a corner, near a tall door.

"Where does this lead to?" she asked.

"The rest of our wing, go ahead," he urged.

Elena opened the door which revealed a winding staircase, lined by lanterns that were attached to the cold stone walls. She slowly made her way up and ended up in a long hallway, lit up by many elegant torches.

"Here we are," Damon smiled, opening a cupboard and lighting up two lanterns.

"Take this, not all the rooms are lit," he told her handing her a lantern.

Damon took the lead and gave her a brief tour of his wing. There was a study, the master bedroom, a dressing room, a library, a couple of guestrooms, a spare kitchen and a room containing a pool table and some others things for entertainment. He led her to the end of the hallway and opened another door. "This will be your room," he explained, lighting up all the ornate chandeliers and spare candles he could fine. Elena gasped for a moment. The room was ever more spectacular than she had imagined. It was well-furnished and the four poster bed in the middle looked like it was taken straight from her dreams.

"May I try it?" she asked softly, afraid he'd tell her no.

"Of course," Damon smiled up at her and she lay down on the soft mattress. It felt amazing, her muscles were so sore. She moved the cover between her fingers, it felt so warm, so soft, and the idea of sleeping here lit up her face.

"This is magnificent," she sighed, more to herself than to Damon.

"I was thinking about running you a bath if you'd like," Damon suggested.

"That would be very kind," Elena said, grateful.

Damon opened the faucet in her attached bathroom and put the plug in the bathtub.

"I'm going to boil some water in the kitchen so you can have some time to yourself in here. By all means make yourself at home, this will be your room for the next year after all," he informed her.

"Can I have a look in the drawers and the closets?" she wondered out loud.

"Of course you can, there are mostly spare blankets and cushions in there I think. But if you find any hidden treasures they're yours," he replied with a wink.

**xXx**

"You're bath is ready," Damon informed her after pouring bucket after bucket of hot water in the tub. He led the way to the bathroom. "Here is some soap, a washing cloth, towels, a comb,... Anything you might need is in this cupboard. I'll go look for some decent clothes for you to wear. I'll be reading in your bedroom until you're ready. But don't rush, I think it's been a while since you had some time to yourself."

"Thank you," Elena told him whole-heartedly.

It was almost an hour later when Elena called out again, "Damon... I'm done in here, do you have something for me to wear?" she asked him hesitantly.

"Yes, I found you some undergarments and a nightgown. There's a corset and a dress in here too for tomorrow. Jenna, my other servant can help you with those."

Elena wanted to ask about Jenna, who she was, where she was sleeping, but a more urgent question popped into her head. "Euhm, how can I get to those clothes? I-, I mean you are still in there, aren't you?"

Damon chuckled at the uneasiness of the young girl, "Modest now, are we?" It was ironic she felt shy about this, considering it wasn't that uncommon for masters to buy young female slaves for their bodies instead of just hard labour.

"Could you-, could you close your eyes and turn your back to the door? ... Please?" she spoke a little taken aback by his response.

"Fine, done and done" he replied.

Elena rushed in and took the pile of clothes before swiftly moving back into the bathroom.

**xXx**

Half an hour later they both sat on her new bed, she was relishing in the feel of the soft fabric. _What a dream it would be to sleep in these_, she thought.

"I can't thank you enough Damon," she spoke, using a sweet gentle tone. "I was wrong about you,"

Damon scooted a little closer to her, his face only inches from hers. This was going incredibly well. "You are very welcome Elena, I'm sure we can have a great time together."

Elena was a little nervous now he was so close, but didn't think too much of it. He was a grown man, at least five years older than her, surely being close to young women meant nothing to him. "I think so too, I'm very grateful for the room and everything Damon. I'll really try to live up to your expectations, I promise I'll be good," she told him, meaning every word until all of a sudden he crushed his lips to hers, his hands coming up to hold her face.

She pushed him away. Shocked, tears sprang into her eyes. No one had ever tried to kiss her before and this was completely uncalled for. Suddenly it all made sense: of course Damon did not want to save her or make her life better in any way, he just wanted someone to screw.

She jumped off the bed, heading for the door, but he gripped her by her wrist, effectively holding her in place.

"Elena, I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd mind, I-"

"YOU ARE A MONSTER!" she spat out, "no different than the rest of them! You think that just because your father owns this place, you can take whomever you want and screw whomever you like! Well you thought wrong!"

"Elena, please, I-" she slapped him in the face, as hard as she could.

"You are all monsters, despicable creatures who act like they're perfect. Well here's some news: you're not. Your father is a mean Tyrant, the guards are no better than horseshit and you Damon, you really are the worst kind!" tears were streaming down her face as she continued, "You think you are different, you think you can manipulate me into caring for you, only to force yourself on me, abuse me, take whatever you like and throw me out when I'm used-up, like you do you're candles. Or were you planning on buying my virtue with luxury? Paying me with some hot water and an actual bed, like I'm some harlot? I despise you, I may be a slave but you are not even worth my time!" she snapped.

Damon was frozen, his fingers itched to shake some sense into her, where did she get off talking to him like that? A good whipping would most definitely teach this girl some respect but before he could act on his thoughts, she was gone from the room.

Elena ran down the stairs to the cellars, the guard eyed her curiously.

"Where have you been?" he demanded.

"Out." she spat back.

"Are you Master Damon's?"

"No!" she said defiantly.

"Good. You know the rules, don't you?" the guard said smirking, taking out his whip.

"It wasn't my fault, I was-"

WOOSH, the whip hit her back hard, she cried out in pain, waking some of the others servants who glared at her for taking away what little sleep they had.

WOOSH

WOOSH

WOOSH

"There, go to sleep," the guard snapped at her.

She went over to her piece of the floor and lay down, wincing in pain. She folded her knees to her chest and covered them with the nightgown she was still wearing. Curled up in a ball, she cried herself to sleep. She only had two hours left before she had to go back to work after all...

**xXx**

**Voilà, I hope you liked it. I'm happy to announce that this story interested over twenty reviewers in two nights, thank you for that. Since this did not turn out to be a mistake, I'll promise to continue the story as you can see. I'll update as much as possible, but you might have to wait a while sometimes since I have a lot of papers to write this semester and I'm working on two stories at once. I'm always open to comments, suggestions and crazy idea's. Let me know what you think!**


	3. Sweet Dreams

**First of all thank you for the wonderful and encouraging reviews. It's great to read what you think of the story. **

**As far as this chapter is concerned: the title of this chapter refers to a song by Eurythmics. I particularly like the contradiction in this song: while the title states 'sweet dreams', the lyrics are a tat darker:  
****_ Some of them want to use you  
Some of them want to get used by you  
Some of them want to abuse you  
Some of them want to be abused_**

**When you read the chapter I hope you'll see how both the sweet part and the dark part applies to certain aspects of the story.**

**xXx**

Elena shifted and tossed on the hard wooden floor, but whichever position she chose, it hurt either way. There was an irritating sound coming from the corner of cellar: _drip, drip, drip_. Apparently it was raining again and there was a leak. Unfortunately that was not the only noise she picked up, there was also the snoring of slaves who managed to have fallen asleep and the silent cries of the new ones who hadn't come to terms with their current living conditions yet. She tried to tune the sounds out, to focus on something else but what else was there? Her mind wondered off to test her other senses and she made the error of opting for the smell surrounding her. The odour that enveloped her senses was a strange mixture of sweat, blood and other body fluids, though there was also the smell of moisture due to the inadequate ventilation system, if there was any at all. Finally, there was a scent she could not quite put her finger on, something rotten. It was the smell of infection. The harsh whips of the guards had made many a victim in these rooms and since there was no way of properly cleaning yourself without clean washcloths…

Elena never used any of the rags in the washing area. Those dirty pieces of fabric seemed to be lying there for ages and were used by so many people a day that they could not be hygienic, right? Her eyes wondered off to the end of the long corridor on her left, where the curtains marked the start of the washing area. She could follow everything the people behind it were doing there, since there was a torch burning behind the curtain and the rest of the corridor was bathed in darkness. The curtain and the light created a shadow spectacle. She'd noticed before how the guard enjoyed watching the play, he was such a pervert. That was one of the reasons Elena rarely washed herself there, she preferred running off to the lake, though the aftermath when she inevitably got caught was never fun. Elena dreamily gazed at the other side of the corridor, away from the curtain. The corridor seemed infinite; she'd never seen the end of it. Suddenly a streak of light lit up a part of the room, Elena hastily turned around, and whoever got in so late would most certainly be in trouble.

Damon!

Elena blinked a couple of times in disbelief, what could Damon possibly want here in the middle of the night? Then it dawned on her, he was here to collect…her.

"Have you seen my servant?" he questioned the guard, whispering. It was no use, his voice echoed through the infinite corridor. Elena could hear every word, so could the rest of the slaves as a matter of fact.

"Are you sure this is her corridor?" the guard questioned Damon, referring to the three other corridors where slaves were kept at night.

"Yes, it is." Damon assured him.

"Then she should be here somewhere," the guard replied, gesturing to the slaves of the floor.

Damon took in the room where he was standing, glancing around in the basement. Their cellar had the same dimensions as the castle upstairs, it was gigantic. This particular corridor was only five meters wide, but the length easily covered over a hundred meters. In the middle of the corridor were two parallel lines, they were meticulously drawn in white paint, perfectly straight. Every meter, there was perpendicular line from the wall to the line in the middle, creating a _zone_. In every demarcated zone there was a body lying down on the hard wooden floor, attempting to sleep.

"Where do I start looking?" Damon demanded exasperated. "It looks like there are over 200 people here! And in this dim light, they all look exactly the same! Aren't they organized in some kind of way?"

"Sure they are! We place them by number, which one are you looking for Master?"

"I told you already, the one I brought in here earlier to collect her things." he explained swaying his arms around while talking.

"Oooow, that one." The guard replied grimly. "She's over to your right sir, six arches down to the curtain. She's between two mattresses on the ground. Here use this torch, she's wearing a coloured nightgown, shouldn't be hard to miss amongst all these beige, dirty rags." the guard explained.

Damon nodded at him, impressed, this man was certainly of top of his work if he could point out every single slave like that... wait.

"How do you know this?"

"Know what?"

"How are you capable of pointing out one single slave amongst the hundreds that sleep here?"

The guard gave him a mischievous smile "Because she's quite the delight," he answered grimly.

"How so?"

"Exquisite beauty, smart mouth but glorious skin, so soft, so delicate," he murmured lost in his thoughts.

"How would you know, you aren't allowed to touch them," Damon spat back, unhappy about the guard's revelation.

"O, sire, we are. When they misbehave: we most definitely are," he told him conspiring, stroking the whip that hung from his belt.

Damon's eyes began blazing, but the guard was completely oblivious. "So, guard, do you enjoy whipping her?"

"Yes Sir, it's a passion of mine, especially when it's her," he added lustfully.

A second later Damon had the guard pushed against the wall, in between some random slaves who moved aside as fast as they could, wide awake. Damon grabbed the guard by his throat and blocked his airways. The guard struggled for air, but Damon was stronger than he looked.

Damon spoke slowly, menacingly, articulating every word carefully: "If you enjoy breathing, you will NEVER EVER touch that girl again, or the next thing to get whipped will be your face. Understood?"

The guard nodded his head and dropped to the floor as Damon released him after kicking him in the stomach.

Elena had seen everything in the dim light and watched as Damon approached. She had no clue how to process this. Did it mean Damon cared for her in some way or did it just prove he was a violent man? What was he going to do with her? As he came closer and closer she wanted to hide away, to cover herself from his prying eyes. She didn't have a mattress, nor did she have a blanket or anything else she could use. She lay on her belly, eyes boring into the floor and stayed as still as a corpse. Maybe he would miss her and skip to the next one in line, it was dark after all.

Damon crossed the white line and kneeled in her _zone_, she did not move or respond in any way.

"Elena?" he spoke softly, comfortingly.

Elena felt her blood course through her veins, her chest felt constricted. Was this fear or anticipation?

Damon drew closer and touched an arm that lay limply beside her.

"Elena, come, let's go back upstairs. I'm sorry about what happened," he apologized.

Elena debated this for a moment, but there wasn't really anything else she could do. She gave the corridor one last glance and decided that anything was better than this. Trusting Damon felt like her only choice. He'd said he was sorry after all.

She sat upright and took his outstretched hand, enjoying the comfort of his warm fingers enveloping her skin once again. She missed those small but comforting gestures: holding hands, a hand on her shoulder... they proved she was still a person and that felt good after having lived on the plantation for a month, deprived of that very feeling.

The castle was dark when Damon led her to his wing, most candles had been blown out so they were led by his lantern. He brought her to the spare kitchen and pulled out a chair, Elena sat down, exhausted from staying up so late.

"Did he use his whip on you?" It was the first thing Damon had said since they left the basement. Elena just nodded in acknowledgement.

"Are you hurt?" he asked concerned. She nodded once again, keeping her head down and her eyes away from his piercing blue ones. Damon moved his finger under her chin to keep her from averting her gaze, but Elena winced at the touch. It felt wrong, having him touch her like that. Holding her hand was fine, comforting even, but anything that went beyond that felt intimate and she did not want to share any intimacy with him, not now and not ever.

Damon withdrew quickly, a guilty look on his face. He probably did not understand the distinctions in touch Elena made.

"I'm sorry," Damon mumbled.

"For what?" Elena spoke for the first time.

"For touching you against your will, twice... I promise to try my best not to do that anymore," Damon spoke heartfelt.

"Thank you."

"Would you allow me to see your back?" Damon asked softly, conveying genuine concern with his eyes.

Elena pondered it for a moment before agreeing.

Damon cautiously walked to stand behind her and gingerly lifted the gown. A gown! That meant he'd see her bare legs and her undergarments before he'd get to the scars! Elena twisted and stopped him. "No!" she yelled immediately.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked her confused.

"I-I, she stammered, short on words, "I'm not wearing anything underneath, except for some briefs and they, they are, they-" she could not finish the sentence but Damon understood. She was young and shy and feeling very uncomfortable.

"It's fine," he assured her. "Let me warm up some milk for you and boil some water to take care of your back and we'll see how we can clean it without upsetting you too much. How about that?"

Elena nodded but did not look any more relaxed.

"Elena... I will not do anything you don't explicitly give me permission for, I promise. Please calm down a little and drink the milk. We'll find a way," he assured her.

Half an hour later Damon had a basket full of bandages, cloths and all kinds of equipment and Elena was carrying a bucket filled with hot water.

"Lay down on the bed, please, on your tummy." Damon ordered.

Elena complied hesitantly, but her inner protests faltered as soon as she felt the soft fabric underneath her.

"Take a pillow and shift it underneath your breasts, so your shoulders will be more relaxed," he continued.

Elena thought of it as a strange request but she moved to do as she was told.

Damon lay out all the utensils he needed beside her on the bed, shifting the bucket with water on a small nightstand next to her. Then he took a blanket and unfolded it.

"Pull the blanket under your gown, it will cover your legs and your buttocks when I cut away the gown," he explained.

"Cut away?" she stammered

"The fabric sticks to your wounds, cutting it will hurt less than undressing the regular way, trust me."

Once again, Elena did what she was told.

Damon straddled her coved legs but did not sit down. He hovered above her tights, one leg on each side of her body to support his weight. Then he took some scissors and cut the fabric open wide, Elena gasped and he stopped. "Are you ok?" he asked her softly.

"Could you please sit beside me?" she questioned in a small voice.

Damon did what she asked and shifted, then preceded to reveal more skin. When the gown had to be lifted, he moved slowly, carefully. Elena cried out as he lifted it, the blood had dried so the fabric stuck to her body, hurting her as it felt like a bandage was ripped from her body. Damon's warm hands moved to her shoulders, massaging her skin, she tensed.

"Shh, just try to relax for a moment," Damon ordered and continued using his thumbs to relax her sore muscles. Elena had to admit it felt good and she found herself relaxing into his touch. After a while one of Damon's hands left her neck and proceeded to gently peel back the fabric once more. When she winced he stopped again, "Shh, focus on my other hand, try to block out the pain. There is nothing to be scared off, I'm here with you and I'm going to take care of you, trust me."

Elena did as he told her and after another fifteen minutes the dress was finally stripped away. Damon's eyes raked over her bare skin, she was so delicate, he'd never seen any girl so sensual, yet so vulnerable. She was not wearing anything anymore except for the lower parts of her, which were covered by the blanket. The candlelight gave her skin an intimate, golden glow. The only thing that kept Damon from relishing in her beauty were the wounds. There were the five fresh, bright red marks of course, but those were not the only ones. Her back was covered in scars, some of them pink, where the tissue had had a chance to heal, other wounds were infected from the poor hygiene in the basement. Damon had trouble muffling his gasp at the sight of such a delicate beauty all tortured and hurting.

"Who did this to you?" Damon wondered, astonished by the damage.

"Your guard. Most of them are caused by the guards in the plantation but those new ones, they were caused today... because I came home late. We are not allowed to come in past ten." she answered, a hint of accusation in her voice.

"I'm so sorry," was all Damon could say.

They were quiet for a moment.

"Some of these are infected, others need cleaning too. I'm afraid this is going to hurt, badly," he stated, regretting his words as he spoke them.

"It's ok," Elena replied, "It's nothing I did not know already."

"Are you ok with me cleaning these?"

"Mm," Elena hummed softly.

"Do you understand I will not do it to hurt you in any way, but to help?"

Elena nodded.

"I need you to say the words, please."

"Yes, Damon, I know you'll do it to help."

"Here we go," Damon stated, as he dipped some gauze into the water and touched it onto her tortured skin. He gently cleaned the fresh wounds but stayed away from the infected ones. Elena gave a small cry as he hit a particularly sensitive spot, but she stayed still and didn't stop him.

"Elena, the infected ones. Do you know what we use to heal those?" Damon questioned.

"Yes," she replied, an uncomfortable shiver rolling through her body. "Alcohol," she answered.

"Indeed..." Damon sighed. "Do you have any clue what that feels like?" Damon questioned.

"It hurts like hell..."

"Would you like me to stick to water?" Damon suggested.

"No! My grandfather had an infected wound once, it never properly healed, it grew into something awful, it-"

"I know," Damon silenced her, "I just wanted to make sure you had all the information before making a decision."

Elena cried out when Damon touched the burning liquid to her wounds.

"Bite into the cushion, otherwise you'll wake the entire castle up," he suggested. He was feeling very sorry for her, but his pity was no use to them now. He moved forward, deliberately ignoring her anguish, this was the price to pay in order to have it properly healed.

Elena trembled, winced and cried. Her cheeks and the cushion were soaked in bitter tears and Damon winced along with her every time another wail pulled at his heartstrings. After the last wound was clean, he took out a tube of cream. It contained an old family recipe and was most effective. He squeezed the tube and distributed the soothing cream over the scars and the red streaks. Elena relaxed a little under his touch. After all the necessary places were covered he placed his hands to her neck again and began rubbing her shoulders with his warm, capable fingers. The cream that was all over his hands by now made the feeling ever better as he slid effortlessly over her body. He moved to her spine, careful to skip any wounds and brought her comfort in the only way he could now.

As soon as Elena realized the hard part was over, she unclenched her teeth and moved her face so her check was now resting on the pillow. It felt good to no longer have her face pressing into the fabric. "You can let go now," she murmured.

"I know," Damon replied softly, "But you've been hurting badly tonight, let's relax you a little."

Damon continued his magic movements and Elena enjoyed his soothing hands. His warm, strong hands felt comforting, loving and she closed her eyes for a brief moment, relishing in the feeling. Damon was enjoying himself too, it felt nice to have her so accepting of him, willing, even if it was just a stolen moment. His hands brushed her sides, drawing closer to the soft tissue that marked the outside of her breasts. He stopped in time, not letting his needs get the better of him, but Elena seemed to have noticed the sudden detour his hands made.

"Damon..."

"Yes..."

"I-, I won't sleep with you. You know that right?" Elena asked nervously, afraid he was just being nice to her now in order to get her to sleep with him later tonight.

"I do," Damon replied, unable to keep some disappointment out.

"Then why are you being so sweet and caring tonight?"

"Because I made a mistake today and you got hurt because of it," he explained earnestly.

"Is it strange to you?" Elena wondered out loud.

"Is what strange?"

"That I don't want to share a bed with you?"

"It depends... Most women I meet are chomping at the bit to share their bodies with me so I'm not that used to rejection. You, however, are very young and inexperienced, I can image why you are rather shy and prudent when it comes to intimacy or just plain sex."

"Do you think there is a difference then?" Elena wondered out loud. She was rather uninformed when it came to such distinctions though she'd heard stories stating that most men did not need love in order to enjoy sex.

"A difference in what?" Damon questioned curiously.

"Between intimacy and just plain sex?" Elena explained.

"I think so..." Damon murmured, pondering the question himself for a moment.

"Then what is it?" Elena wondered.

"I believe intimacy is something you do when you are in love, it's more delicate, it contains more than just sex, a broader array of actions and feelings I guess. Sex on the other hand, is just a physical act. It's not that special, animals do it too. Ultimately it's just a means to an end, in that case finding a release for certain desires," Damon explained, he looked surprised that he had to spell this out for someone.

"When you kissed me earlier, would you have slept with me if I'd wanted you to?" Elena inquired.

Damon seemed to contemplate lying for a moment, but bowed his head and let out a sign: "Yes." He was wondering where she was going with this.

"Ok," she swallowed audibly. "Then answer me this: where you looking for intimacy... or just plain sex?" Elena wondered, genuinely curious.

******xXx**

**This was a chapter was written after a long time of debating. I wanted to make this story one about trust and friendship and it's supposed to be a slow burn. This chapter does not fit into my storyboard since it's too much too soon... Then there was Carol (once again) who wrote****_: I hope Damon beats up the whip-wielder himself ... maybe if he finds her feverish, very sick from infected whip wounds, if he takes care of her, maybe she'll give him a second chance. _****That was so much more fun to write than what I had in mind, so I gave that review a personal twist and wrote this. In the end the pleasure of writing these scenes won out over dealing with the aftermath of burning a little faster for a while. I hope you all enjoyed reading, I most certainly enjoyed writing this!**


	4. Out of Reach

**Dear readers,**

**Over twenty of you have already favorited this story. I think that's quite a vote of confidence considering there were not even 10 000 words up when you did so thank you very much! I fear this chapter might not be received as well as the previous one since I'm going to take it back to the start. **

**The chapter is inspired by a song by Matthew Perryman Jones and it was featured both on Pretty Little Liars and One Three Hill.**

**xXx**

Elena was still waiting for an answer when something brushed up against her leg. She woke with a start, glancing wildly from left to right. This wasn't her room in Damon's wing, so where was she? After sitting upright and taking in the seemingly infinite line of slaves to her left and right she realized dazed that it had all been a dream. She lay back down again and winced, she'd momentarily forgotten about the marks on her back. One day she would stuff that repulsive whip down the guards throat!

As soon as her mind had recovered from the crazy dream, reality struck: she was in big trouble. Walking out on her new _master_ was definitely not a good way to start off. Moreover: rejecting him the way she had the night before was a sure way to wound his pride and men never took such things well. She was sure he'd take it out on her once he found her. Elena contemplated leaving for a moment. If she ran now there was a chance of her getting out of the castle before the guards could catch her. She glanced at the evil man in the armchair. He was still awake but he looked tired after his long shift. On the other hand: what would she do if she got out of the castle? The Salvatore estate was surrounded by high gates and barbed wire, not to mention the hounds that accompanied the gatekeepers at all times.

The estate was gigantic though, there had to be a place where no one would come look for her right? Her mind flickered to her room in Damon's wing and she grinned. She could always hide under the bed where she was supposed to be sleeping. It seemed like a hell of a plan, he'd never think of that.

Damon. Her mind kept racing back to the handsome dark-haired stranger that was now her master, or was he? Would he pick someone else now and leave her be? Probably not. She couldn't figure out whether it was a good or a bad thing. For one since the proposal he'd laid out for her did sound tempting. She hadn't gotten one decent meal in her stomach since they'd brought her here and a mattress instead of the hard-wooden floor was also quite alluring. Furthermore it looked like Damon was opposed to whipping slaves, or was that just the dream-talking? God, how did she even end up having such dreams?

Agr! Why was she even considering this? Is was obvious that he only wanted her for her body. He made that pretty clear the previous evening. Would he ever force himself on her though? Was it possible that she could settle into their arrangement and keep him at bay at the same time?

TOOOOOOOOOOOOT

The horn woke the remaining slaves in the corridor and pulled her back to reality. The horn resounded every morning at 4:30 AM, indicating that it was time to get started. The obnoxious noise was still echoing through the long hallway by the time she moved to the line in the middle to start the morning routine.

Time to wash yourself was not included in the mornings. They only got about a minute to fold their blankets (if they had any), arrange their _zone_ and move to the middle where a line would be formed. After precisely sixty seconds there was a second sound and the line had to move out of the basement to the refectory. Anyone who did not fulfill these two simple tasks to the guard's satisfaction would be harshly whipped or chained to the wall for the remainder of the day.

One a hot Wednesday morning not that long ago, Elena had wondered briefly whether being chained to the wall was a better option than spending the day doing hard labour. She surely found an answer to her question after being subjected to the following whipping and torture. They'd chained her ankles to the wall, spreading them over a meter apart and attached her wrists with heavy shackles above her head. As if that wasn't torturous enough, the shackles had nails on the inside, so whenever she wouldn't keep her arms up herself, the nails would cut into her skin. When they'd finally freed her over twelve hours later she'd been broken and spent and had vowed to herself never to question the morning routine again.

The slaves marched up the stairs and a large queue was forming before the breakfast bar. There they would get a glass of milk diluted with water. The taste was horrible but she'd learned to eat and drink every little thing they offered her since it was never enough. She took her portion of porridge and moved to the table. Other slaves had told her life was even worse on other plantations. Apparently it was customary to feed your slaves only twice a day. Giuseppe Salvatore insisted on feeding his slaves well though. Not because of some crazy humanitarian perspective of course, but because he wanted his slaves strong enough to keep up his demanding schedule. Starving slaves was simply not productive.

**xXx**

Damon was woken by Jenna, his personal slave, at 7 AM sharp. Personally he hated waking up that early but his father wouldn't allow his sons to sleep in. It was a waste of time and money according to the old man.

"Did you have a good night sleep Master?" Jenna asked him politely, setting out his breakfast on the balcony.

"I did not," he replied curtly before disappearing into his bathroom.

Jenna bowed her head and ran back to the kitchen to work on some orange juice for her master. She was not well-informed of the current situation but she did know that there was supposed to be another slave in the wing by now and she idly wondered if that was why Damon was so upset.

**xXx**

To say that Damon hadn't slept well was definitely an understatement, he'd never actually fallen asleep. The incident with Elena was constantly on his mind. On one hand he knew he shouldn't have kissed her but where did she get the audacity to turn him down? The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that he had been good to her, kind and gentle and she had simply been very ungrateful. Slaves were supposed to please their owners in every possible way. How did she not understand that? Slaves who misbehaved were punished or killed, she should be glad he'd let it slide.

Her aversion to any kind of physical interaction was not only highly unprofessional but also ungrounded. Slaves were the property of their masters, that meant body and soul. He had the right to have her any way he wanted. Hell, he could even chain her, gag her and act out every little fantasy that came to mind. On that note the guilt exited his system. His breakfast forgotten he slipped on his clothes and left the room in search of Elena. She really needed to be taught a lesson. Disobeying him was no longer an option.

**xXx**

It was almost time for the daily lunch break when Damon marched over to the plantation site. He hadn't forgotten in which section Elena worked and found her in no time. Elena was up in the tree picking fruit and collecting it in a basket, she was oblivious to her audience until Damon cleared his throat.

"Time to come down Feisty. We have a long day ahead of us," he called out, his tone gentle but firm.

Elena was startled by his unexpected presence and had trouble keeping her balance for a moment. She seemed to debate her next action before deciding to ignore him.

"Princess, I'd suggest you to get that lovely ass of yours over here right about now. Disobeying me WILL have consequences you'd rather not be subjected to," he spoke softer, so only she could hear him.

"Bite me," she snarled back, climbing onto the next branch.

"EVERYONE LEAVE THE AREA!" Damon shouted. About forty heads turned to gaze at him dazed, unbeknownst to what was going on. "NOW!" he added and everyone started moving as if struck by lightning. The territory was completely cleared out in a matter of minutes.

"So, you were saying?" he questioned Elena threatening. The girl sat down on a branch and stared straight ahead, hoping he'd get tired and go away but Damon did no such thing.

"Listen up Darling. I know you're inexperienced and I am sorry you were startled by my advances yesterday. That said: you need to move on. This apology is a courtesy. It's one I'm not obliged to give you, so consider it a privilege, a sign of my good-will if you want. But make no mistake: you are mine now, that implies body and soul so I suggest you get with the program Missy. If you come down now I'm sure we can have a conversation and you'll get some input. I hope you recall I can be quite reasonable. If you don't however, you'd be declining yesterday's offer which makes you just like any other slave. So to summarize this for you: either you suck it up and we can give friendship a try or you'll be my slave and you WILL obey. I suggest you choose wisely. "

Elena spat on the ground and missed Damon by an inch. He stared at her, shocked and enraged. She was offended by his words and wanted revenge. After a moment she smirked stating: "You can dream all you want _master_, but I will NOT obey."

Her voice sounded a lot stronger than she felt, she hoped he did not see her trembling. The moment the words left her lips and the satisfaction of seeing Damon's shocked face died down, everything came crashing down and her mind started reeling. The only thing that came to mind was the overwhelming thought: What did I do, what did I do what did I do?

She stared back at the man below and realized she was in over her head. He was superior to her in every way. How could she get out of this mess? He glared at her, eyes blazing, she was in big trouble. Then it suddenly clicked: she was going to get punished either way; so why not make it worth it?

"What is it Damon? Tongue-tied much?" she challenged.

"Watch your tone Dear or this won't end well for you!" he shot back venomously.

"I hate to break it to you _master_ but you sent away all your minions and until they get back I'm safe up here. I think I'm going to exploit this moment and give you a piece of my mind!" she spoke defyingly.

That was it for Damon and he moved to stand below her and eyed the branches carefully. If she could climb then so could he.

"By all means: you better start talking before I get up there," he spoke menacingly, before making his way up to her.

**xXx**

**This chapter was the initial third chapter but when I read about other possibilities in the reviews I couldn't help but write those in since they were much more fun. It's a slow-burn story however and last chapter burned a little too bright to be real. This way I could do both so I hope you're not too mad about the dream sequence and you'll tune it for the next chapter!**


	5. Heartbeats

**To call for hands of above, to lean on, wouldn't be good enough for me, no. - version of José González. Enjoy reading.**

**xXx**

Damon climbed the tree rapidly, way too fast for Elena's liking. In a few short moments he was facing her. "So, young lady. Ready to admit defeat or would you rather deal with the consequences?" he questioned.

Elena swallowed hard and averted her eyes.

"Not so brave now, are we?" he questioned smugly.

Elena didn't respond.

"Get down, you're coming with me," he ordered.

She hesitated briefly.

"Either you come down willingly or I'll push you off this three. You might break a bone or two but hey, at least you won't be running away anymore," he threatened darkly.

Elena took a careful first step and climbed lower and lower until her feet touched the ground again. "Good," Damon praised. He took her roughly by the elbow and dragged her along.

"I-, I can walk myself," she intervened softly. She was still a bit shocked by his new approach.

"I'm sure you can. The real issue at hand is the fact that you lost all of my trust," he explained coldly, tightening his grip. His fingernails dug into her flesh and it hurt but Elena didn't say a word and instead just tried to keep up with his rapid pace.

When they finally reached the house he shooed her up the stairs of his wing and led her into his study, forcing her down harshly into the chair in front of his desk.

"So, it's time we had a little chat," he started.

Elena stared at the ground, silent.

"Let's go over a few new rules," he continued, sitting down on his wooden desk. "First of all: from now on you'll look me in the eye when I address you," Damon told her, tilting her chin up so she had to meet his gaze.

"Is that clear?" he questioned. She nodded. "When I ask you something, I expect a verbal response. Is that clear?" he repeated his previous question.

"Yes," Elena whispered, rubbing her arm where his grip had hurt her. He wasn't going to whip her, was he?

"Yes who?" Damon insisted.

"Yes Damon," Elena complied.

"No! You're done using my first name. You lost that right when you tried humiliating me in front of all the other slaves this morning. From now on you'll address me as master. Is that clear?"

"Yes, m-, master," Elena uttered the word, feeling completely degraded.

"Good," Damon told her satisfied. "From now on you'll be a regular slave here, that means you'll get a list of duties in the morning and you can go to sleep when you've fulfilled them all. You're not allowed to open any closets or to look through any drawers, nothing here is yours. Understood?"

"Yes, master."

"You'll do everything I ask you without blinking or over thinking and if you don't there will be punishment. A bath, clean clothes, decent food and all things related are a privilege. You can get access to those if you're obedient and fulfill your duties to my satisfaction."

"And if I don't." Elena challenged, trying to get her edge back.

"Then you'll have to face the consequences of your actions. Do you have any questions?"

Elena thought hard. This wasn't what she'd expected. He was acting so cold, so distant; it chilled her to the bone. She thought about her dream again, how gentle he had been. Had she imagined all of that? No, she hadn't. He'd been kind to her the previous night; that was before he'd tried kissing her of course.

"You-, you offered me friendship earlier… I was stupid to decline," she started hesitantly.

"Yes, you were."

"I realize that now… Is there any chance we could try again? If I tried harder? If I could be better?"

Damon looked at her wide-eyed and shocked. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? _No!_ he scolded himself. He couldn't take her up on that offer. Not after the stunt she'd pulled earlier. She had to learn that things were not up to her and there was no going back if she made a mistake.

"Elena, you don't understand, do you?"

"Understand what?"

"The kind of treatment I offered you, that was not something I was supposed to offer. It was a misguided attempt to change the way things ought to be. I know that now," Damon answered her.

"Maybe it wasn't misguided, maybe we just had a false start," Elena tried.

"You tried humiliating me, you ran away twice! Whatever I thought, I was wrong. From now on you're just like any other servant here," Damon retorted angrily. "Jennaaaa!" he yelled.

A young blonde woman came running through the door a moment later. Her hair was tied back in a strict knot and though she was wearing servant's clothes, she was dressed a lot nicer than most slaves on the plantation.

She made a small courtesy and looked expectantly up at him.

"Jenna, this girl here is young Elena. She's our newest member of staff. I expect you to give her a pair of clean clothes and get her to work. She can help you with your tasks today. Don't go easy on her, she has a lot to learn," Damon told his servant.

"Yes master, when do we start?" Jenna questioned.

"Right now," Damon replied.

"But Damon, I haven't eaten anything yet," Elena pleaded with him. It was way passed noon already and her stomach had been aching since nine o'clock.

"Its master for to you, don't make me say it again," Damon informed her coldly.

"_Master_, I haven't eaten yet," Elena implored again, having obvious trouble with the word master.

"I do not care," he informed her dryly. Both Elena and Jenna stared at him with disbelief.

"Go on, you're both dismissed!" Damon urged.

**xXx**

Elena stared at Damon in horror but Jenna pulled her along by her arm before she could protest.

"It's ok, Damon does not watch us while we work, I'll find you something in the kitchen as soon as he leaves the wing," Jenna reassured her.

Jenna took Elena to a wing next to Damon's and brought her to some sort of walk-in closet filled with cleaning utensils. Tall, white cupboards lined the walls of the room holding buckets, brooms, dustpans, sweepers; rags and all kind of bottles containing what she assumed were cleaning products.

Jenna wasted no time collecting everything she could hold and handed Elena multiple utensils. Elena's stomach growled in response.

"By the time we've cleaned the hallway of his wing, Damon will have left. I promise it won't be long before you'll have some food in your system," Jenna told her kindly.

"Thank you," Elena whispered quietly. Jenna had been nice to her and she did not want to impose, but she was undeniably hungry.

"It's nothing dear. Damon isn't normally this hard on his servants either. I'm sure he'll ease up on you as soon as he gets to know you a bit better."

**xXx**

Damon was enjoying a stroll in the bright flower garden when he suddenly noticed his father sitting on one of the benches. He moved to turn around inconspicuously but it was no use. Giuseppe was already aware of his presence.

"Don't hover, you lazy boy. Come over here and inform me on the progress you've made with the Gilbert girl," he ordered.

Damon took a few hesitant steps closer until he was standing in front of his father, who was eying him strictly.

"What have you accomplished so far, Damon?" he questioned mockingly.

"I have it under control, father," Damon replied curtly.

"No, you don't!" Giuseppe burst out, standing up from the bench and pointing an admonishing finger at his son. "Your little experiment has been a complete and epic failure," he continued, spitting in Damon's face as he spat out the words.

"I heard you could not even persuade her to get out of a tree. She ran away twice. Is that what you would call 'under control'?"

Damon bowed his head, knowing he deserved this.

"One more thing boy, I know I told you your task is not about violence. That does not mean however that you must let her walk all over you with those dainty little feet of hers. She cannot think she's a slave without a master. You have to make her bend, understood?"

"Yes father."

"You're dismissed, get to work boy. Your time is not unlimited as you know."

**xXx**

By the time the girls had dusted the expensive wooden carvings on the first showcase dresser near the stairs, Jenna had told Elena her entire life story. Apparently the blonde woman had been brought here as a girl and had fallen madly in love with a young gardener named Alaric. The two of them had paid of their respective family debt a while ago, but neither had any intention of leaving.

"Why would you stay here?" Elena asked her, she couldn't believe anyone would stay here voluntarily.

"I was never mistreated here. Ever since I was brought here, I was a servant to Damon. He's different than most masters. He has never whipped me once, nor has he hurt me in any other way. I always have sufficient food and he has a fair system in dealing with servants: you finish your list and you spend the rest of your time in whatever way you please," she explained.

"My husband Ric was raised by a woodward. Around the time he was allowed to leave here, there was a vacancy in that department. He offered to do the job for free if he could live in the tiny cottage in the woods and eat with the personal servants of the Salvatore family. Lord Giuseppe always had a thing for money and he never cared for the cottage so he immediately agreed. Ric and I have been living there for three years now," Jenna continued.

"That's good for you, I'm happy it worked out," Elena told her.

**xXx**

"So, I have to ask: what did you do to him?" Jenna asked her as soon as they entered the kitchen a while later. There was no accusation in her voice, just sheer curiosity.

"He tried to kiss me," Elena said softly. She knew she probably shouldn't talk about this but she didn't care. Damon wasn't her friend; she could tell Jenna whatever she liked.

"He did?" Jenna asked incredulously.

Elena just nodded, unwilling to give her the details of their midnight encounter.

"So what happened?" Jenna questioned.

"I pushed him away and I ran," Elena confided to the overly enthusiastic blonde.

Jenna needed a moment to process this new piece of information but then she blinked and stated: "Good for you girl." And she patted Elena on the back.

Elena winced in pain as Jenna's hand touched one of the marks the whip had left.

"Are you hurt?" Jenna questioned concerned.

Elena shook her head, but her grimace betrayed her.

"Let me see," Jenna demanded, pulling on the nightgown Elena was still wearing.

Elena stopped her, crying out as she felt the fabric being ripped from wounds it stuck too.

"I see why you don't want to change," Jenna sighed. "It was the filthy old pervert in the basement, wasn't it?" Jenna asked, feeling sorry for Elena. The girl just nodded.

"How many times?" Jenna questioned softly.

"I lost count… they're not all from last night though, I've been collecting them for months here. Courtesy of having an opinion," she added more to herself then to Jenna.

"Oh darling… I'll ask Damon if I can give you a bath, it'll be unbearable if we try getting rid of them like this."

"No!" Elena's response was immediate.

"But sweetheart, Damon is not as bad as he seems, I'm sure he'll even give you some cream to make it heal faster once he sees this," Jenna urged.

"He can't," Elena replied, leaving no room for arguments. She still remembered her dream vividly and there was no way she would let Damon take care of her. For one because it would be a huge disappointment compared to what she knew could have been and secondly because she was done being the weak, little girl. If he wasn't going to treat her any better than she could act like herself again.

"Ok, we can leave Damon out of this. Then at least let me get some gauze and some hot water to clean it up a little."

"No, I don't need your help," Elena told her firmly.

"You do need my help, Elena. This plantation is a pretty hostile environment, I suggest you take all the help you can get."

Elena realized Jenna only wanted to help but she couldn't except it. It wasn't just about her wanting to keep this from Damon though. Accepting someone else's help felt unnatural. To be indebted to someone was what had gotten her on this plantation in the first place. Friendship was nice of course, something she missed here, but she had learned it was dangerous to care. Once you start leaning on people you only risk falling flat on your face once they step back, and that was not a risk she was willing to take.

"If you really want to help, could you maybe find me some food?" Elena asked, trying to change the subject.

"Of course!" Jenna opened some cupboards and got a loaf of bread and a jar.

"Here," she handed Elena the food, "This bread was supposed to be his breakfast, it should taste just fine. You can dip it into the sugar if you'd like," she told Elena, pointing to the jar.

Elena enjoyed the feel of bread in her mouth. It tasted so much better than the porridge they gave her in the refectory. She greedily took large bites of the loaf, knowing it would hurt later on when the food would finally get to her stomach. In this moment she didn't care, all she could think about was eating as much as she could possibly manage.

**xXx**

"There you two are!" Damon accused them angrily as he swung the door open. "The library isn't done yet and my bathroom wasn't cleaned either!" he spat out coldly.

Then he took in the scene in front of him, spotting the crumbles of bread on the kitchen table.

"You gave her food?" he asked Jenna incuriously.

"But master, she was so hungry," Jenna defended herself.

"That's not how things work around here and you know it!" he snapped at Jenna, eyes blazing with fury. "There is no disobeying me without punishment Jenna. You won't go home until after nine tonight and you'll sent the extra time scrubbing the floors on your knees," he informed her without blinking.

"Please master, Ric-"

"Nine thirty," Damon snapped back.

Jenna bowed her head in defeat "Yes master," she replied meekly.

"You can't do that! It's not right! She didn't do anything wrong!" Elena spoke defiantly, staring straight into Damon's eyes.

"I can and I will," Damon told her angrily, stepped closer to her and looking down on her slim body.

"I won't let you," Elena spat back.

"Nine forty-five Jenna," Damon retorted darkly.

"No, no no, you can't do this,"

"Ten o'clock for both!" Damon spoke louder. "I can go all night Elena, 24 hours to every day and 7 days a week. The question is: how much will you let your newfound friend suffer for your indiscretions?" Damon challenged her.

Jenna's eyes bore into Elena's, pleading with her to let it go.

"Fine," Elena told him angrily.

"Yes who?"

"Yes _master_," Elena spat out the word as if it was a curse.

"No dinner for you tonight," Damon retorted.

Elena nodded, refusing to give him an excuse to keep Jenna even later.

"Would you care to explain to me why you're still wearing this filthy nightgown after I explicitly asked you to let Jenna change you into something more fitting?"

Elena bowed her head and Jenna's demeanor changed. She stepped closer to Elena and gently touched her hand to Elena's arm in an attempt to reassure her.

"What's going on?" Damon demanded.

**xXx**

**Thank you for reading!**


	6. This isn't everything you are

**Dear reviewers, you were right, that was indeed a mean cliffhanger. So here you are: two days later and the next part's already up! :) My heartfelt thanks to livinginalostgeneration for proofreading these last two chapters! The title is a reference to the incredible One Republic.**

**Dear readers, enjoy the chapter!**

_"Would you care to explain to me why you're still wearing this filthy nightgown after I explicitly asked you to let Jenna change you into something more fitting?"_

_Elena bowed her head and Jenna's demeanor changed. She stepped closer to Elena and gently touched her hand to Elena's arm in an attempt to reassure her._

_"What's going on?" Damon demanded._

He glanced from Elena to Jenna, expecting an answer. Neither of the girls replied.

Damon closed in on Elena, checking her out from the crown of her head to the tip of her toe, looking for anything out of place.

"I don't see any issue, go up to servant's wing and get a change of clothes. I expect both of you in my office in two minutes sharp," he commanded.

Elena stood up from her chair and moved deliberately closer to the door, looking Jenna straight into her eyes and pleading with her to come along.

Jenna shook her head, trying to convey with her eyes that this was never going to work. They couldn't possibly get Elena changed in under two minutes, especially under these circumstances.

"Master, there is a problem," Jenna started.

"No!" Elena interjected, "Please don't," she continued.

"Yes Jenna?" Damon urged the blonde woman kindly. He was satisfied she had chosen to tell him.

"Elena is hurt, badly hurt," Jenna admitted.

Damon's dark eyes grew concerned for just an instant, and then it was back to business.

"What happened Elena?" he demanded, addressing her inquisitively.

Elena stared at her feet. She couldn't quite tell him she got whipped after running away from him last night; that would only bring him pleasure. Or so she thought.

"The guard in the basement, he whipped her, multiple times and on multiple occasions as far as I can tell. The wounds were never properly cleaned. You know the cellar, there isn't even hot water," Jenna responded.

"You took a bath yesterday, which must have hurt terribly. Why didn't you say anything?" Damon demanded. The was a slight hint of concern in his voice, but his tone was mostly cold and bitter.

Elena just nodded curtly, averting her eyes once again.

"So Elena is hurt. Fine. Why can't she change into decent clothes?" Damon questioned Jenna, remembering the real issue at hand.

"The undergown of her nightdress is sticking to the wounds, not to mention the dirt that has gathered over the course of the night. Removing the dress would be incredibly painful," Jenna told him.

"Last night? Did she get whipped last night?" Damon inquired.

Jenna nodded.

"Elena," he questioned, tilting her chin up with his finger. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked in wonder.

"It was after I'd… _left_ the room," she replied softly.

"I see," Damon replied, not knowing what to make of this situation. "Please wait in the hallway, I'd like to talk to Jenna for a moment," he told her, leaving no room for discussion.

Elena did as she was told and stepped out of the kitchen, closing the heavy wooden door behind her.

**xXx**

"How is she?" Damon asked Jenna, suddenly concerned.

"Hungry and hurting, _master,_" Jenna replied mockingly.

"Elena's gone, you can go back to Damon," Damon replied dryly. He always allowed his servants to address him using his first name. Switching things up in Elena's presence was merely a precaution to keep her in check.

"She was very hungry. I gave her some bread but I don't think it was enough. They don't feed the slaves properly and they've exhausted her on the plantation. As far as the wounds go, she wouldn't let me check them out. She started yelping as soon as I tried to lift her gown. I know that pervert downstairs though, if he has a chance to use that cowardly weapon, he uses it with all he has," Jenna confided.

"I see. What do you suggest we do?" Damon wondered, finally understanding what was going on.

"I'd like to bathe her, to soak the dress. Maybe I can detach it from her skin that way. It will take some time but her productivity will increase as soon as she's not hurting every moment that dress shifts," Jenna replied.

"I agree. Do you think she will cooperate?" Damon questioned.

"If it's just me in there I think it will work. She's made it very clear I was not allowed to involve you, you scared her pretty badly I guess."

"She just overreacted to something I did," Damon explained.

"You mean kissing her?" Jenna challenged.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Damon threatened. Jenna knew Damon would never hurt her, but she didn't push the subject either way.

"I have a question Jenna," Damon told her much softer.

"Let's hear it," Jenna replied.

"I can't let Elena sleep in her room tonight. That's a privilege and she did not deserve any. But I don't want her to sleep in the basement anymore. One top of that we have the issue of her running away every chance she gets, she needs surveillance," Damon stated.

"Put a mattress on the floor in your room, that way she'll be safe and you can keep an eye on her," Jenna suggested.

"I suppose that will do," Damon replied, "Now let's set up my bathroom, it's bigger than the other ones. Oh, and you might want to sneak some food in there if she's as hungry as you tell me she is. But be careful I don't find out or I'll have to take it away," he added with a smirk.

Jenna smiled at him. She knew he wouldn't let Elena starve.

"One last thing Jenna: as soon as you have the mattress set up and Elena is properly taken care of, you can run off to Ric's for the night. I don't need you here until ten. Just make sure Elena doesn't know," he added, giving her a wink.

Jenna nodded gratefully.

**xXx**

When Jenna and Damon stepped out, Elena was dusting the porcelain in the cupboards. They had talked for over half an hour and Elena had almost finished all the tiny, delicate figures.

"Come," Jenna beckoned her and she led Elena to the storage room. The girls made a bed for Elena on the floor in Damon's room and collected the necessary clothes Elena could wear at night. Jenna found something made out of silk, which would feel much better on her back than the rough cotton she was wearing now.

By the time Jenna and Elena entered the bathroom, Damon had retreated into his room next door. It was already late and he changed into his nightclothes and lay down on the bed. The door of the bathroom had a gap underneath, it was commonly used for ventilation since there were no windows in that room, but tonight it made sure Damon heard everything that was happening inside.

First there was the splash of water as Elena stepped foot in the tub, then there was the wail that left her lips as she lowered her body into the water and next there was the audible anguish as Jenna tried getting Elena out of her clothes.

As the tortured cries came to a halt he could hear Jenna gasp. It made him increasingly concerned. He desperately wanted to go in and see for himself what had happened, but that wouldn't help Elena so he stayed in place.

"He's a monster," Jenna let out as she took in Elena's tormented skin. He couldn't hear any response.

"Sweetheart, I'm going to have to clean these otherwise they will get infected. Can I?" Jenna asked her as sweetly as possible.

"Yes," Elena replied, a tremor in her voice.

She yelped and cried as Jenna tried to limit the damage. Suddenly the cries stopped.

"Are-, are you done?" Elena asked in a very small voice.

"Unfortunately I'm not sweetheart, but I brought something for you. It might help take your mind of things," Damon wondered what Jenna had brought.

"I-, I can't eat in a bathtub," Elena protested. "And Damon will know, he'll punish you for feeding me," she added.

"You are hungry Elena, the food will distract you. And there's no better place to eat then a bathtub, all the evidence will be down the drain as soon as we are done here," she insisted.

"But Damon-"

"Damon won't know Elena," Jenna interjected. Damon smiled to himself, Jenna knew he was out here, she trusted him. He would not betray that trust.

The sound of water being pushed around again indicated Jenna was back to cleaning Elena. There were more cries of course but they sounded less heartbreaking than they did before, maybe the food did help.

"How do you feel?" Jenna asked Elena when he could hear the water running away.

"My back is better," Elena replied.

"That is not what I meant," Jenna replied, undoubtedly rolling her eyes.

"What do you mean then?" Elena questioned. He heard a chair being pulled out, they were probably sitting down.

"I mean how are you doing with all this? You obviously haven't always been a slave. How are you dealing with life here? And what about now, working for Damon? Do you like this better or would you like to go back to the plantation."

Damon was curious as to what she would reply. Did she like working for him better than performing hard labor on the plantation? Was she unhappy he led her here? There was no reply from the brave little brunette next door. He waited in anticipation until he heard a muffled sob.

"Oh darling, please don't cry," Jenna shushed. The room was quiet for a while.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," Elena told Jenna between sobs. "I was contemplating running this morning, after what happened with Damon. That's when reality struck: I don't even have anywhere to go."

"At night I'm dreaming about how things could be better. I think about a future, about what I could do with my life. But then in one little moment, it all implodes: all I am is a simple slave."

"Oh sweetheart, that is not-"

"Don't bother. I asked around on the plantation this morning. As slaves we lose every right to ourselves, including the right to our bodies. I ran away scared yesterday because Damon tried to kiss me, but he could have done whatever he wanted…"

Damon swallowed hard. This was exactly what he had wanted her to know yesterday. He had felt the indescribably need to make her acknowledge that he could do whatever he wanted. But hearing her say the words, so broken, so lost; it did not give him any pleasure, all he wanted was to make that pain she felt go away.

"Elena, you can't think like that dear," Jenna urged.

"No, it's okay Jenna. Deep down I knew it all along. It just took me some time to understand what it really meant. Now I get it: I'm meaningless around here, nothing but a stupid slave."

The conversation lasted a little while longer, but Damon distracted himself; he could no longer listen.

**xXx**

Hours later, Elena finally got to bed. Jenna had left and she had been thoroughly cleaned. Her eyes were red from all the tears she'd shed and her head ached. Damon was asleep in the large four poster bed. Elena sighed and sat down on her mattress, exhausted. When she laid her head down on the pillow, however, she felt something scratching her face. She scanned the pillow with her fingertips and found a neatly folded piece of paper.

The room was dim and she'd already blown out her candle. She walked over to the large window and was lucky to find the moon was full tonight. She turned the note to the moonlight and noticed the cursive, exquisite handwriting.

_This isn't everything you are._  
- D

**xXx**

**That was it. Please let me know what you think, just type a simple message in the box below, you don't even have to be a member to do so. It only takes a minute to write and they are so incredibly encouraging to read. :)**

**Readers of Scars: I'm sorry for being late on posting. Rewrote it on Tuesday and it's being corrected right now.  
**

**Personal Message to 'THUNDER': I'm sorry this story is an 'epic disappointment' but I'm not going to quit it. First of all: you can't compare this to Scars Beneath the Surface! Scars has a thoroughly developed storyboard and I spent days perfecting those previous chapters. This story had no storyboard, it's written on public transport. It started out as a (removable) experiment but it's gotten some lovely reviews so as long as people are interested: it's staying. (P.S.: I did include a warning in chapter one as from now on)**


	7. Up in Flames

**Hi my dear / lovely / incredible readers… It's been too long… I could come up with a million excuses but don't get me started on my bachelor paper. I noticed people keep tuning in, following / reviewing / favoriting and it warms my heart and it's the reason I'm not on hiatus yet because things really are crazy busy. **

**A big thank you to livinginalostgeneration for putting her magic and mainly turning this into actual English :P That said: read away!**

**xXx**

Next morning Damon woke up to an empty room. _Damn_. This was not going according to plan. Yesterday night he had decided that he was going to have breakfast with Elena, in order to have a conversation about her well-being. He hadn't woken when she left the room though and now she was gone. Luckily she would have to come in and wake him up sometime soon, so maybe they could talk then.

Four minutes later the door swung open, revealing an enthusiastic Jenna who was carrying a large tray. Damon's face fell at the sight.

"Where's Elena?" he questioned, clearly disappointed.

"Good morning to you to Damon. Did you have a good night sleep?"

"No. Where is Elena? Why isn't she here?" he inquired, needing an answer.

Jenna set the tray down with a sigh. "Elena was feeling a bit down yesterday evening, depressed even. So I sent her to the farm today, hoping that the change in environment would cheer her up."

"Oh," was all Damon replied.

"Do you want me to go get her?" Jenna questioned.

"No, you might be right," Damon replied, acknowledging that this might be a good approach.

**xXx**

Elena was sweeping the floor of the old barn clean along with two other female slaves. Jenna had sent her to the farm today, hoping a change in scenery would lighten her mood; though it did no such thing. The barn was ancient and filthy; it reeked of excrement and moisture.

Today was the day when they had to bring in the dried hay to stock it for when they needed it. Therefore everything needed to be thoroughly cleaned first, one hell of a job.

When Jenna had sent her here, the first thing that came to mind were piglets and lambs. Unfortunately she hadn't seen a single cute, little animal up untill now.

"Hey, you're Damon's new girl, aren't you?" one of the other servants questioned.

"I guess," Elena mumbled quietly. "My name is Elena."

"I'm Vicki and this is Dana," Vicki introduced themselves.

Elena nodded in acknowledgement and went back to sweeping.

"So, I heard you were quite the rebel on the plantation," Vicki announced.

Elena kept her head down, not wanting to confirm the statement.

"Come on, we're all in the same situation here. Tell us!" she urged.

"I didn't always do as they pleased, that's all," Elena spoke tiredly.

"Mmm. Is that why they gave you to Damon?"

"They didn't give me to Damon, he just picked me up one day. I don't even know why," Elena admitted.

The two girls in front of her giggled. Elena, however, was too tired to ask why.

"You silly girl, you haven't heard, have you?" Dana questioned.

"Heard what?"

"About the bet?"

"What bet?"

"Damon has a bet with his father that he can get you to sleep with him, willingly, within a year."

Wow. That was definitely not what she'd expected. It did explain the sweet note though.

"I don't believe you," Elena challenged.

"Fine, then don't."

"Mason, come over here, will you?" Vicki asked one of the stable boys.

A young man with a boyish grin came running towards the girls.

"At your service Vic!" he quipped.

"You remember this one?" Vicki questioned him, pointing at Elena.

"Damon's girl, right? What about her?"

Dana nodded.

"Tell her about the bet, Mason. You were the one who overheard them talking, didn't you?"

Mason stared at his feet while Elena had a horrified expression of her face.

"Www-, what's the bet about?" Elena stuttered.

"I don't think you want to know sweet cheeks," Mason retorted with a smirk.

"Tell me anyway," Elena replied, a bit more firmly.

"From what I heard, Damon told his father he would get you to share his bed, if you know what I'm saying-" he informed her with an exaggerated wink.

"If Damon succeeds he gets the company, if he doesn't he has to leave the estate for good. Guess he was quite confident in his abilities to make you swoon all over him," Mason stated mockingly.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Elena whispered, before hurling all over the floor.

Dana and Vicki huffed in disgust.

"You can clean that up yourself, can't you?" Dana asked in mock politeness.

Elena didn't reply; she just walked out of the barn, looking for something to clean up the mess. By the time she got back with a bucket and a mop, everyone else had left so Elena spent the rest of the day cleaning up the barn on her own.

It took her all day to get the last straws of old hay out of the corners and to scrub the floor until it was completely clean to the inexperienced eye. The mice had wrecked havoc on the upper floor of the barn, nibbling away at the wood and staining the sides with what must be urine. When she was done with her main task, she took a new washcloth and started working on the wooden beams. They were covered in dust and cobwebs so it kept her busy for another few hours.

The noise outside had died down and most of the slaves had already gone back to the castle for dinner. Elena on the other hand couldn't bring herself to go back. Lunchtime had passed hours ago and her stomach was growling because she skipped it, yet her body didn't allow her to leave the barn. How could she eat amongst the other slaves when everyone knew about her and Damon? How she was just a pawn in some cruel game of his.

Hearing the truth from Mason today had hurt her more then she cared to admit. She knew something was up with Damon and his behaviour towards her, but suddenly it all made sense. He had never cared for her, had never wanted them to become friends. The note she found in her bed was just a ploy to get her to fall in love with him. That was what this was about right? Use an innocent girl for your own amusement? Get her to trust you just so you can rip her heart out? Well, she wasn't going to play along.

As darkness fell upon the Salvatore land, Elena snuck out of the barn to a small building nearby. As she past the entrance she noticed pigs were divided into different secluded areas, it reminded her of the slaves' zones in the cellar. The moonlight revealed a big bucket of food, probably ready to be distributed the next morning. Elena inched closer and inspected the food, there were apples.

With a shaky hand, she took one of the pieces of fruit and took a small bite. It tasted nice and she was starving.

**xXx**

At dinner, Jenna noticed Elena's absence at the servants table. _Right._ She had forgotten to inform her that personal servants didn't eat in the refectory with the other slaves. Jenna stood up and made her way downstairs, imagining how happy Elena would be if she tasted the difference in food. Personal servants got to eat the leftovers of their masters instead of the drowsy drap the other slaves got as a meal.

As she darted down the stairs she bumped into Damon.

"Hi, where's Elena?" he questioned.

"Probably down at the refectory, I was just going to get her."

"Good, bring her over after dinner, will you?"

"Ok, that's fine by me," Jenna replied, upbeat.

When she got to the refectory however, her new friend was nowhere to be found. She walked over to Vicki, knowing she had worked in the barn as well.

"Vicki, have you seen Elena?" she questioned.

"Last time I saw her she was puking all over the floor," Vicki replied with a giggle.

"Did she come home with you guys?" Jenna asked Mason and the men who were surrounding him.

"I'm afraid not. Maybe she got lost?" he suggested.

That was bullshit though. Elena wouldn't get lost on the estate? She'd been roaming the grounds one too many times for that to happen. _Was this another attempt at running away? _Jenna wondered.

"Did something happen today?" Jenna questioned the group.

Everyone started laughing.

"What?" Jenna insisted.

"Nothing, it's just, apparently Elena wasn't informed about Damon's bet yet and well, it kind of slipped out," Dana stated.

"What bet?" Jenna demanded.

"The one between Sir Damon and Lord Salvatore, stating that if he gets Elena to sleep with him without forcing her, he gets the company and if he doesn't he's out of here," Mason told her as if he was informing her of today's weather report.

**xXx**

"I am so done with you!" Jenna yelled at Damon as she stormed into his office. She threw her apron onto the ground, eyes blazing with unadulterated fury.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that Jenna," Damon threatened.

"I think I'll speak to you however I want, _Damon_. You're not my master anymore, I quit," she spat in his face.

Damon stared at her, shocked. As Jenna turned around to leave, Damon gripped her wrist.

"Don't touch me, you monster!" Jenna barked, ripping her arm from his grip and trying for the door again. Damon was faster, blocking the doorway.

"What the hell is going on?!" he demanded.

"Your little bet. That's what's going on!" Jenna retorted furiously.

"What bet?"

"The one where you get the company if you screw Elena over, literally. How could you Damon? Try and get her to fall for you, sleep with her and then break her heart. What kind of person would do something like that?" Jenna questioned.

"It's not like that!" Damon screamed.

"So Elena's not here for you to bed her?" Jenna inquired.

"She is, but it's not what you think," Damon told her a little softer.

"Then what the hell is going on?" Jenna demanded.

It took Damon a while to convince her he did care for Elena and when he had succeeded he could finally ask the one question that had been burning his tongue ever since Jenna had entered: "Where is Elena?"

"I don't know," Jenna admitted.

"How can you not know?" Damon inquired, trying to keep calm.

"Some idiots who worked down at the farm today told her their version of your _bet_. Elena never came home."

"Grab a blanket, we're going to find her," Damon replied.

Jenna reacted instantly and ten minutes later they were out the door with two lanterns. Damon was glad Jenna had agreed to join him, Elena wouldn't be too happy to see him.

**xXx**

After Elena had eaten a few apples, she went back to the old barn. In the middle of the barn there was a ladder to the platform and she climbed it cautiously. Once she was upstairs she lay down on her tummy at the edge of the platform, overlooking the wide open space below. For some reason the platform was incomplete so it only covered half of the barn.

Elena heard voices outside, near the openings in the walls that served as windows. From her hiding spot she could see four men hovering near the entrance of the barn. She recognized one of the men's voices as Mason's. Her chest constricted for a moment, from fear she would get caught but she realized after a few minutes that the men weren't here for her. They had stolen some cigars and were only here to smoke them in secret.

Elena watched the men from her hiding spot upstairs. She was safe there though, there was no light except for the men's lanterns so no one could see her. She laid her head down for a while, trying to block out the conversation below her and attempting to get some rest when suddenly she heard one of the men panic.

"Someone's coming!" he uttered and the men rose to their feet, abandoning the barn as fast as they could. One of them took the lanterns and the other one shoved him.

"No! You idiot! Leave the lanterns! They'll give us away, it's safer in the dark!" he snapped and he blew out the candle, enveloping the room in darkness.

Elena saw their shadows slip away until all that was left was the burning cigars, abandoned by the entrance. One cigar fell onto the dried hay she had been sweeping out all day long and then a small flame arose as the straw started to burn. Then another straw caught fire and another. Elena watched mesmerized. There was something so intriguing about fire.

**xXx**

**I know, I know, this is not the kind of chapter you like but sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better. Btw: for those of you who are confused, there is an actual reason Elena is not as freaked out as she should be by that fire. Our lovely little Elena is in more trouble than you think, but luckily we have Damon, who'll be playing knight in shining armor and save the day. Oops: spoiler alert. I'm thinking he'll get her out cradled against his chest, do you approve? :P**

**Enfin, chapter posted, now I can finally catch up on all those amazing stories that have been piling on chapters in my absence. First one I'll be reading is _The Salvatore Boarding House for Troubled Girls_. Good writing and probably right up your alley, be sure to check it out!**

**Bye bye X**


	8. Atlas

**Hi dear readers. Here we go again. This chapter was inspired by Atlas by Coldplay (again indeed). It's a great song and I kind of love it. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.**

**xXx**

**_Caught in the fire, say oh  
We're about to explode_**

**xXx**

Jenna followed Damon out to the farm, tears sprang in her eyes. A million different emotions made their way through her mind and as hard as she tried: she couldn't sort them out. First of all she was worried sick about Elena's safety but moreover: she couldn't wrap her head around Damon's story.

Turns out the rumors were in fact true, his dad did assign him to gain Elena's trust, but what grown man would ever wager on such things? And why would he make Damon's inheritance dependant on it? Damon had told her the entire story: how he had messed up in a meeting, how his father had told him about one particular slave, how he had toyed with Elena and she had been pretty enraged. But he had also emphasized the fact this had never been his choice, this was his father's scheming.

No matter how mad Jenna was at Damon: she knew him. She had been working for him for ages, long enough to know he had always treated her properly and kindly, deep down she understood that Damon had just been scared to lose it all. In the end he also convinced her he would not sleep with Elena, he just needed the year to find out how to get around his father. Acting like he was in fact executing the plan, was the smartest way to stay inconspicuous. Jenna had to admit he had a point, still: it didn't sit right with her.

**xXx**

The fire spread slowly, steadily, until it found the large pile of dried hay Elena had collected while she had been cleaning. Elena couldn't see the pile, it was behind the wall, but she saw the light seep through the hole in the wall and she knew what was happening. The next thing to burn was she wooden wall next to the pile, it was part of the barn.

Barn. Wait. She was in the barn! She had to get out. She made her way over to the ladder and cautiously moved downwards, one step at a time. The ladder was missing a few steps and she found it hard to focus but she managed to get down. As her foot touched one of the last sports, the wood under her foot cracked in two and she fell down. Auch. Her ankle hurt!

She wanted to get out of there but in the time it had taken her to descend the ladder, the fire had spread. There was flames flaming the entrance, a lot of them. She inched closer but her ankle was hurting like hell, slowing her down. If she had to pass the doorway at this pace the flames would eat her alive. So she just stared.

It all looked so familiar. Why did it look so familiar? Everything was turning hazy, breathing got harder and harder. Right, this was how her parents had died. She had been in this position before, had done this before. Last time she had cheated death though. Would she be so lucky this time? She doubted it, life only gave you a limited amount of second chances.

Maybe this was the way things ought to be, maybe this was God claiming her life after all. She shouldn't have survived that first fire so here she was, surrounded by fire once again. Was this the way nature found it's balance?

Elena glanced around and sat down. She was unnaturally calm. She felt none of the panic she had felt the first time this happened, back when she had fought to survive. Why would she fight this? What was left to fight for?

If she got out of this alive she would have to go back to Damon. But Damon didn't care, he just wanted to win a stupid bet, so what did she have left? The early mornings and the never-ending work? The beatings and the whippings? The humiliation and the loneliness? The more she thought about it, the less reasons there were to stay alive.

"Elena!" she heard two voices shouting her name outside.

"ELENA!" two figures came closer. Maybe they were here to save her? They didn't have to, they didn't need to, it was ok now. It was nice and warm here and something about it felt like home somehow.

**xXx**

Damon had made his way into the burning building and scooped her up in his arms, cradling her against his chest. Elena's eyes were closed as she faded in and out of consciousness. Her skin was burning with heat, but he knew she was still breathing as he felt her shallow intakes or breath against his chest. He leaped forward and got them through the door but the second he made it out, it all became too much. The heat. The stress. The dry ache in his throat.

He fell to his knees and touched the warm sand, Elena was still holding his shirt for dear life, she didn't let go and neither did he. "Jeremy," he heard her whisper before the feint footsteps around him came to a halt and they were pulled apart and both carried inside.

**xXx**

A few hours later Damon was staring at the ashen white girl in front of him while one of the doctors was checking him out. They were in his chambers. After he had gotten Elena out of the fire they had brought her to that filthy excuse of a medical ward in one of the basements. He wasn't having that though. The minute he had woken up himself he had ordered his servants to bring her up to his room, where she could rest peacefully and comfortable, in the best bed on the estate.

"Sir, you seem to be alright as far as I can tell. I don't even think you've inhaled much smoke. I recommend some rest, you should be feeling better soon," the doctor informed him.

"And the girl?" Damon inquired, pushing himself up in his armchair.

"She a lot worse off than we thought. She's has various burning injuries on her legs and arms and her back is badly infected. She appears to have some harsh wounds there that weren't properly taken care of," he told Damon wistfully.

"But she was washed right after she got them," Damon argued.

"Just water and soap are not nearly enough to kill these kind of bacteria sir. Now every one of those wounds is infected. She will be needing medical treatment and some medicine to help her heal."

"Will she be ok?"

"Right now she's in great pain, to the point where it almost becomes unbearable. We gave her some medicine but it won't do much. On top of that she is running a sky-high fever. Do you know where her brother and her parents are? She was asking for them while she was briefly conscious," the doctor asked politely.

"They are all dead as far as I now," Damon told him, his voice soft.

"In that case I think she might have started to hallucinate, she was mentioning them. It's not uncommon in cases like this. You will have to keep a close eye on her-"

"Could someone please explain to me what is going on here?" a low, aggravated voice boomed through the room.

"Father," Damon acknowledged.

"Some of the slaves were carelessly playing with fire in the old barn, I saw them run away," Damon informed him.

"I'm aware of that part, seeing the barn is no longer there. What I want to know is how your servant ended up in this state," he inquired.

"She was working late in the barn," Damon explained.

"What was she doing there?" Giuseppe demanded.

"They needed extra help of there, I thought she would do a good job there. There were no complaints about her work," Damon told him.

"She should not have gotten hurt! I want her alive," Giuseppe stressed.

"Since when do you care about any of our servants? This wasn't the first time one of them got badly injured. What is it about her that has you interested?" Damon snapped.

"That is none of your concern boy and you do not get to use that tone when speaking to me!" he spoke bitterly, "Make sure she gets better and do not forget about your assignment, this does not change anything!" Giuseppe told Damon while walking out of the room.

Damon watched his figure disappear, wondering about his father's strange behaviour until the doctor broke him out of his reverie.

"Where would you like us to take care of the girl? She will be needing a lot of rest, should we move her to one of the spare beds in the basement?"

"No, leave her here."

"In your bed?" the doctor asked him incredulously.

"Yes, it's more comfortable than the one in the guestroom," Damon told him, feeling like he needed to explain himself.

"Could you leave the room for a moment, Sir?" one of the nurses asked him.

"Why?"

"We will need undress her to tend to her wounds," she clarified.

Damon reluctantly walked out to wait in the corridor.

**xXx**

A good hour later, the medical team had left and he was sitting in a red, velvet armchair by the window, watching Elena as she slept. Suddenly he noticed her grimacing, he features expressing more and more discomfort by the minute. A few minutes later she started talking in her sleep.

"No, Jeremy! Stop," she yelled, "Jeremy, come here!"

Damon walked over to the bed, sitting upright on the edge next to her.

"Jeremy!" she repeated, over and over again, always the same name. In the end there was no more screaming, just whispering and sobbing. Tears fell freely from her eyes and Damon watched powerlessly. The doctor had told him beforehand not to wake her up, fearing it might be too much of a shock but as another strangled cry left Elena's lips, Damon could take it anymore.

He shifted Elena gingerly so her head was resting on his right leg, above his knee and began stroke her hair in a soothing rhythm. After a while it seemed to help and she calmed down under his touch, crawling closer against him.

xXx

Elena's mind felt foggy, everything was one big haze. She remembered the fire, Jeremy carrying her out of it. But then there were these unexplainable memories about pain, doctors, nurses that flashed through her mind as well, everything felt so complicated. Her back hurt, her head pounded and she had a hard time distinguishing dreams from reality. She vaguely remembered being forced to down a burning liquid, it still stung in her throat, but it had dulled some of the pain and eased some of her darkest thoughts.

Jeremy was back, she had called for him, cried for him, begged the vision to resurface, but here he was again, stroking her hair while she rested her face upon his knee. She knew she was supposed to take care of him and not the other way around, but right now, all she could think about was how he was finally here again.

**xXx**

With a knock on the door, Jenna made her way in. she gasped at the sight in front of her.

"Damon!" she admonished.

Damon held his finger in front of his lips, indicating she had to be quiet.

"This is not part of the plan," she whispered roughly, fuming.

"Sssh, I'm not doing anything. She was upset, she needed someone to be there," he explained.

"She's asleep! You're taking advantage!"

"God woman! I'm not taking advantage! She was crying and shivering and she's in pain, I just wanted her to know she wasn't alone!"

"Well, you should have thought of that before you made that stupid deal with your father. Don't think your forgiven yet Damon!"

Damon hung his shoulders down and gently lay Elena back on the pillow, shifting so he was no longer touching her. Elena immediately tensed and groped around her, trying to find him again.

"No," she mumbled as she crawled back to him. Damon wove his hand exasperated at her, pointing the issue out to Jenna. "What do you suggest we do? Or are you planning on staying the night?"

**xXx**

A while later, Jenna had taken Damon's place in the bed and Damon had moved to Elena's room, trying to figure out what to do next. Elena would wake up one of these days and remember everything. How could he possibly make this right?

**_xXx_**

**_Carry your world, I'll carry your world  
Carry your world, and all your hurt_**

**_xXx_**

**That was it, another chapter. I would have loved to make this more passionate, but then I figured that that might not be realistic, so you'll have to wait a little longer… Be sure to let me know what you think and by all means: until next time!**


	9. 9 Crimes

**According to the PM's this week, I'm not the only one who notices the inaccuracies in my story. There are historical ones, medical ones, scientific ones and even juridical ones. How come they are there? Because I always realize them when I'm passed the point of no return. Last week I learned in class that it was practically impossible to disown your son back then for instance and Elena should have been long gone by now from both infection and smoke inhalation but those fact are… NOT convenient to my plot.**

**As a result I don't always feel motivated to write because sometimes it just seems to be one big mess. But then suddenly your email comes in and you read a lovely review and you figure that it's worth starting a new chapter, even if it was just to please that one reviewer. So here you are. :)**

**xXx**

Tick, tick, tick, tick. The grandfather clock in the back of the room ticked mercilessly as time went by. Minute after minute passed and Damon was powerless. It had been a week since the fire and Elena only seemed to be getting worse. The doctor had stated yesterday that if she didn't wake up within the next 48 hours, they was a great chance she never might.

That reality had hit him hard, harder then he'd thought he would. He had spend nights tossing and turning restlessly, dreading the moment when she would finally wake up and remember, the moment where she would look up at him with those big doe eyes full of hurt and betrayal. But right now: that was all he wished for.

The words of the doctor had cut him like a knife. They had turned his perspective upside down. As much as he had dreaded having to face her before, there was nothing he would rather do right now because Elena dying was simply a reality he could not face. How did it get this far?

Not that long ago she had been a challenge, then a girl that needed to be put in place, needed to be taught how to obey. But now he didn't care about all of that anymore. Now he yearned for those days where the lack of submission had been his biggest problem.

He couldn't figure out exactly where or when things had changed, but somewhere along the way they had. She had gotten under his skin… He couldn't describe how he felt towards her exactly, couldn't put his finger on what she did to him but he needed her now and there was no way she could die.

A humorless chuckle escaped his lips as he faced the harsh reality. This girl had been in a fire that had killed her parents, had been whipped, beaten, starved and exhausted, yet none of those things had ever claimed her life. Now however, after she had been taken away from that harsh life and he had taken her under his wing under the pretense of change, _now_ the universe seemed to be hell-bent on collecting. _Well isn't that ironic, don't you think? _

Damon stared down at Elena's pale body that lay completely still by his side. Jenna had gone home a few hours ago, she couldn't take it anymore. Now he came to think of it: could he?

Weather he could take it or not wasn't really up for discussion now, it was rendered irrelevant after all the things he had done to her. It was his fault she was here, that meant it was time for him to take responsibility and watch over her.

He had thought the first few days were hell, the days when she was screaming and sobbing or mumbling in her sleep, thinking he was her dead brother. But this silence was just deafening and it hurt even worse than her agonized cries had. Because the silence made it real, it felt like it was confirming the doctor's words and he couldn't have that, it was just something he couldn't handle.

Couldn't handle. There weren't many things Damon could not handle. These days he'd do anything for Elena, push his limits, anything if only she could be safe again. He would crawl through the dirt if it meant getting her back, hell, he would even walk straight into a burning building! Oh, wait, he had… and in the end: it didn't matter. This was the universe mocking him, making fun of him in front of everyone. Telling him that there were some mistakes that could not be reversed.

The ironic thing is: he had figured it out. Two hours before the doctor had told him the bad news he had figured out what he would say to Elena. How he would let her have the bed and sleep on the cold floor next to her –without mattress-, how he would promise her he would do anything that could prove his honorable intentions and his shame. None of it mattered anymore. All that was left was the big, fat chance that she would never hear those words he had practiced.

A bird sang a sad song outside and the clock struck three, indicating that he was an hour closer to his worst nightmare. Damon ran a worried hand through his already messy hair and smoothed the cover of the bed out once again, like he had done a million times already. Then he took in her beautiful features and tucked a loose strand of hair back, noticing how he forehead shimmered with the sweat from her fewer.

He took the wet rag out of the bucket next to him and gently dipped her face. He was moving gingerly, gently and lovingly, regretting the fact that he had never touched her like this before when she was aware of it… and fearing he never would.

**xXx**

The door squeaked loudly, disrupting the peaceful quiet as the doctor and his two nurses walked in again. Damon knew he had to leave her for a few moments so they could clean her and tend to her wounds, but it was hard leaving her alone.

As soon as they allowed him to return, the atmosphere in the room had changed. Then it hit him, the two days were up.

"Sir," the doctor spoke, trying to get his attention.

Damon shifted his head distractedly in his direction, sitting down by Elena's side, where he had been for the past days.

"I'm afraid there is not much more we can do," he informed him sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"The girl needs to be hydrated, she needs proper nutrition, we cannot give her any of those things if she doesn't wake up-"

"They have been given her liquids! I have myself! She swallows it, you've seen it yourself!"

"It's not just that Sir," the doctor told him calmly, "That was a temporary solution, it's what has kept her alive. Sadly, it won't be enough much longer. Her body is showing signs that it's shutting down. I am truly sorry Sir."

"It can't!" Damon exclaimed, kicking the bucket of water and sending it splashing all over the hard-wooden floor.

"I'll give you some time to say goodbye," the doctor spoke softly, before respectfully dismissing himself.

**xXx**

"Elena, please, just listen to me," Damon begged as he held her hand in his. "Elena, I'm sorry! Do you hear me? I'm so very sorry about everything." Tears prickled in his eyes as his hope began to waver. Desperation crawled under his skin like a thief in the night.

"I care about you Elena, you can't die on me. This is not happening to you Elena, you can fight this! You are strong enough to overcome this. Come on, just squeeze my hand… I know you're listening, just push a little harder. You are right there, aren't you?" He gave up on denial soon enough, it wasn't working.

"Elena," he told her sternly. "It's time to quit this nonsense. I know you are mad at me but this isn't right! I command you to wake up." "Wake up, dammit!" he exclaimed.

A few minutes later he was a little calmer again and after stretching his legs he sat down next to her again.

"Elena, that deal you heard about, it didn't mean anything. I was trying to protect you and myself, I only accepted so I could buy more time. I was the one who told Jenna to bring you food that night in the bathtub, remember that? Do you remember that note I wrote you? I care about you, I pulled you out of a burning building for god's sake, I would never hurt you!"

"If you wake up, I'll do anything to make this up to you Elena. Hell, I'll even sleep in that cellar, I'll give up on all the luxury, the only thing I need is for you to come back, please come back to me Elena, please."

"Please come back…" his words were nothing but a hoarse whisper and a lone tear fell free from his eyes, dripping onto her delicate skin and making a trail that disappeared in her hairline. She didn't flinch, she didn't know. That's when it hit Damon, hit him hard: this was it.

He took a bottle of bourbon from the bottom drawer of his closet and poured some of the amber liquid in his system. He needed the sting, he needed the burn but most of all: he needed to forget.

"Elena, I can't do this anymore. I need you to come back to me, I need you to wake up, I-" his voice trailed off as he took in the body next to him, because that was all she was. A body. An empty shell. The challenging, defying Elena with a healthy appetite for trouble was nowhere to be found.

Damon kneeled down next to the bed and pressed a soft kiss to her crown. This was the end and he knew it, this was the point where he could no longer stand to watch anymore. He was at the end of his rope. A trembling finger of his trailed her cheekbone one final time and then he turned around, closing the door silently behind him."

**xXx**

"YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH!" he shouted through the hallway as he entered his father's study.

"Damon!" Giuseppe exclaimed indignantly.

"Stop it right there! I don't care about your pitiful lecture! Elena is dying as we speak and it's all because of you and your messed-up plan!" he yelled as he tossed all the papers of the desk, breaking a lamp in the process.

« Calm down Damon ! I do not know where you get this nonsense but it isn't true and you know it ! » she countered.

"Oh yes it is!" Damon hissed as he wreaked havoc on the office, leaving nothing untouched in his path of destruction. "You have always wanted to hurt her! It has been your plan from day one and now she's gone!" he exclaimed.

"You have no clue what you're talking about, you foolish boy! This was an accident caused by some mindless slaves who were seeking trouble after dark. I never touched her," his father spoke.

"You told me to manipulate her, you made her life even harder than it already was! The fact that she was out there in the first place, that was all on you! I will tell mother, I will tell Stefan and everyone will know about the deal you wanted to make with me!" he threatened.

"Are you going to let them in on the fact that you agreed too? Because that might be relevant to the story, don't you think? Or are you conveniently going to leave that part out? Bending the truth, making other people pay for your mistakes, that's what you're good at Damon, isn't it? I mean look at poor Elena-"

That was the last drop, Damon launched himself on top of his father, hitting him hard in the nose, with everything he had. In a matter of seconds he felt himself being restraint however, by two of his father's guards who were dragging him forcefully out of the room. This wasn't over though, he would make sure of it.

**xXx**

A good two hours and many drinks later Damon found himself in town. He had managed to pull himself free from the guards and was now dulling the ache in a fitly pub somewhere in the outskirts of town. Or was it a brothel, he wasn't sure.

"Hey gorgeous," a young woman greeted him as she sat down on the stool next to his. He could tell she was a hooker from the way she was dressed. Damon didn't acknowledge her and took another gulp from his drink, though he was well aware that there was not enough liquor in the world to fill the ease the pain.

"Are you up for a little something? You look like you could use it," she commented, as she ran her long finger seductively over the toned muscles of his chest.

His eyes made contact with hers and meeting her big brown orbs, he realized they sounded so familiar. _Right_. Her eyes reminded him of Elena's.

The girl took his hand and laid them gently on her own hips, moving purposefully, never breaking his gaze. All he saw was he slim figure, the tiny waist, her dark long hair… those eyes. The similarities with Elena were so staggering he almost thought he was imagining them, but he wasn't.

Not even half an hours later, she had pulled him behind one of the curtains he had let her, he didn't have it in him to protest, he felt numb. She pulled him down violently and he sat on the bed, his eyes set on some invisible point in the distance. "What's wrong sweetheart?" she girl asked him, as she realized he wasn't into it. Damon hadn't even realized she was talking to him, denying the girl of an answer.

Two delicate warm hands cradled his face, drawing his eyes up to meet the big brown gems. "What do you want my dear?" she asked him seductively.

"To forget," he whispered and only moments later her lips were attacking his neck.

He felt himself being pushed down on a mattress and halfway noticed how his shirt was slowly unbuttoned. Yet all he could think of, were the long brown strands of hair that tickled his fair. When he closed his eyes he imagined it was her hair, that it were her lips, that is was her body devouring his.

Deep down however, he knew it wasn't and he felt worthless, dirty, ready to be thrown out of the window, out with the waste. This was not the way to handle this and it was not something he usually did. But desperate times call for desperate measures and this just… happened… somehow.

The girl on top of him had undressed both him and herself and was pressing her lips to his, trying to coax some reaction out of him. All he could see were her eyes… all he could see was Elena. _This wasn't right. This wasn't right! He was supposed to be forgetting! He couldn't be thinking of her, he was supposed to be forgetting._

He closed his eye, blocking the deep doe eyes out of returning the kiss with vigor, focusing on nothing but the motion. But as his hands fisted in her hair, she was there again. Elena. _This wasn't right, this wasn't the time, this wasn't the place._ So he twisted the girl in his arms and took control of the situation. He could do this. This was alright. Elena would not mind, Elena was gone. _This wasn't-_

He scooted back on the bed, leaving the girl naked, breathless and alone as he pulled his clothes back on in a matter of seconds. Putting a stop to things before they got out of hand. _This wasn't something he could do, this wasn't something he could-, this wasn't-_

Damon fell to his knees and his head started to spin, the alcohol finally taking its toll on his body. Elena's face flashed in front of his eyes one more time and then everything went black, because this wasn't right. Nothing was right anymore.

**xXx**

_It's the wrong kind of place  
To be cheating on you_**  
**_It's the wrong time__  
But she's pulling me through  
It's a small crime  
And I've got no excuse_

And is that alright with you?  
And is that alright with you?  
Is that alright, is that alright?  
Is that alright with you?  
No.

**xXx**

**Few! That was a hard one to write, can't deny that the intensity of it is something I don't like to write, but it can be quite a challenge sometimes to do so.**

**Most of the times when I write I work out a plot and then I look through my ITunes to find a song that fits and I go from there. This time the song wrote the chapter though. I know it's been around for quite some time but it will always be one of my favorites.**

**Message to Ally: I couldn't write you a PM because you are a guest but thanks for reviewing. If you'd like you could always do some song suggestions and maybe they'll inspire one of the next chapters…**


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